Our club’s web site (https://highbeemers.clubexpress.com) is the sole repository for all things club related. Up until now the only way to access that website was through a web browser. While that was a good solution for a desktop, the browser on a mobile device was poorly formatted and difficult to use and navigate. I am happy to announce that HBMC now has a true mobile app available for both iPhone and Android cell phones. Read on for a very brief summary of the new app as well as download instructions for the app.
For those of you who don’t want to use a mobile app, don’t fear, as the web site will still retain its full current finctionality. If you don’t want to use the app, you don’t have to. Feel free to stop reading now and hit the “delete” button on this email.
The app introduces five new features over and above the functionality of the desktop web site. We don’t plan on using two of those five features (at least for now), so read on to find out about the three new capabilities introduced in the app.
- Easy mobile access to the full web site. The app provides a true mobile interface to our complete web site, so you can do everything on the app that is done on the web site. I will add that during testing we have noted a few issues on Android devices that are easy to work around, but just know that the app is not yet perfect.
- A notification feature where the web site administrators are able to send a message to all app user's mobile phones that will present as a notification on your mobile phone (provided you have enabled notifications for the HBMC app).
- A “Chat” feature that is best thought of as a more real-time version of the existing Forum functionality. The Chat feature is Channel based – think of Channels just like the different forums, they organize the Chat into different topics of interest. You can choose to sign up for Channels, or not, and to be notified when a new chat item appears in a channel you are interested in, or not. Anything you post in a channel will be seen by everyone who belongs to that channel. The Chat function is also now available on the web site, but only after you have logged into the mobile app at least once. Note that when joining a new channel, there is a slight delay (up to 30 minutes) before you will have access to the new channel.
To download the app, go to either the Apple or Google App store and search for “High Beemers MC of Northern NV”. The app is free to members, the small cost involved will be paid by the club. However, since there is a cost for each download of the app, we’d ask that you only install it on phones where you will absolutely use it. Note that the log on credentials for the app are exactly the same as those you use for the web site. This also means that associate members cannot use the app, as they do not have log on credentials for the web site.
To save me writing pages of instructions for the mobile app, there is a good YouTube video from Club Express explaining the features of the mobile app and how to use them. The video is 12 minutes long, but if you only need to watch the first 4:30 of the video to cover the features we are deploying. You can access the video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcnHMRi2nig
Once you become a little more familiar with the app, if you can see a use for a new channel that might be useful (for example, a channel for members going on an overnight ride etc) just let me know and I can set up the new channel easily.
The two features that are discussed in the video but we do not plan on using are the Direct Messaging and Meets function, so feel free to skip details of those in the video.
I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have on the new app, but I’d ask that you first watch the video linked above and see if your answer lies within.
Regards
Tracey McCormick
HBMC Webmaster