Windsurfing WA has got group setup in Facebook for this type of use. Does not really get used this way but it could be.

What WWA has setup is:

Twitter account @WindsurfingWA for broadcasting messages

Facebook Page (different to Group) for post messages and content (only admins have access) www.facebook.com/pages/Windsurfing-Western-Australia/136631579752572

Facebook Group (seperate from page) for chat, communication. People need to request access to group but once in group you can post messages and use as you have suggested. www.facebook.com/#!/groups/345749050696/

All can be accessed off a smart phone with the right app.

Brilliant idea

I'll start a facebook group and then put up a link

What's Facebook?

I've quickly made up a facebook group, just need people to join, go to the beach and start posting beach updates to get the ball rolling. The more that join and post the better.
www.facebook.com/groups/408489629161595/

tobyhodgso said...

Nebs, any chance you get this site to talk to your GPSTC?

GPSTC has an api for posting sessions, but needs all the speeds and distances too. Goingoff is more focused on what's happening today and tomorrow, rather than capturing past information for analysis so there's a bit of a mismatch.

Even if goingoff provided an api that GPSTC could post sessions to, GPSTC doesn't have the location for sessions so the spot selection would need to be done manually.

There is a feature planned to add clubs or informal groups to goingoff.net, then it would make sense to add sessions without a location, until then...

tobyhodgso said...

I was not thinking the session posting- more the who is where function.

How about using going off more like a plug in widget in the gpsTC so that we can see whos going where, whenever we log into GPS TC.
Maybe using the data to make a map- to show where people are planning to go.

I only mentioned the session planning part, that part is to show you if anyone is going to your fav spot on the weekend or tomorrow etc.

There is also the notion of a "check in" that you can do when you are at the spot with your phone. It can detect where you are by gps if you want and you can put a comment in. It's designed to be done with only a few touches on this page once you've signed in http://goingoff.net/Session/Checkin

For example if you wanted to see who is at Sandy Point goingoff.net/Spot/Detail/1 :
1. If you've added it as a favourite spot, you'll be able to see on the home page who's checked in.
OR
2. If you've added it as a favourite spot and opted to get email notification, the site will send you an email to let you know.
OR
3. You can use the RSS or ATOM feed to see who is checking in or planning sessions at sandy point e.g. goingoff.net/Spot/Rss/1 or goingoff.net/Spot/Atom/1

Here's an explanation of how you could get a RSS feed on your windows pc desktop www.groovypost.com/howto/microsoft/enable-windows-7-rss-reader-gadget/ . I can't speak for GPSTC but any site could include the RSS feed of activity at a particular spot.

At the moment the idea is that it is centred around the usual spots that you sail at, to limit the number of notifications e.g. In Vic I'm not really all that interested in who's sailing in WA. I'm planning to build in groups or clubs so you can narrow down the feeds that way. If I can work out how to integrate the checkins with facebook's "checkins" I'll do that too, then that notification is visible to your friends on facebook. At the moment I'm trying to see how to correlate the facebook "places" with a gps coordinate, I'm sure there's a way...

Please give it a try and if you have any ideas of how it could be more useful for you to connect with your windsurfing mates on the right day, let me know.

We have a site where we use Twitter to tell the locals whos going where & when but not how strong it is generally.

R1DER said...

I've quickly made up a facebook group, just need people to join, go to the beach and start posting beach updates to get the ball rolling. The more that join and post the better.
www.facebook.com/groups/408489629161595/

Excellent

Update by Owen shows Mainbreak as the place to be www.facebook.com/groups/408489629161595/