Make Your Own Free Private Social Network (Android & IOS)

The social-network app Path is a great way to stay in touch with friends and family privately. It doesn’t let you make posts public (and therefore is a great alternative to Facebook). Sign up for free at www.path.com, where you can also install the Android or iOS app.

To ensure you only add people who matter, you’re limited to 150 friends. There’s a premium account for £10.50 a year that includes extra emoticons and camera effects. We’ll be looking at the iOS app for most of this Workshop, but the two apps are very similar.

 Follow the Steps Below:

1. To add friends in Path, tap the Friends icon 1 and then the red portrait icon with the plus symbol 2 . You can find friends through options including Twitter and Gmail contacts, as well your device’s address book. Give Path permission to access your contacts and it will check to see if they’re already members. Tap friends to send them an invite. Tap the Promote button to post to Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter, so friends on those networks can also find you.

2. A new feature in Path makes it very easy to add a friend who’s actually with you at the time. You both need to go to the Add Friends menu, then tap the In Person option. Th e bottom half of both screens will show a QR code that works as an invitation to Path. The top half of the screen is the view of the device’s camera. Scan one device’s QR code with the other device to become friends on Path.

3. A notification will appear at the top left of the app 1 whenever one of your invitations is accepted. Tap this

marker to see who accepted the invitation and to send them a message. Notifications will also appear here when other people send you invitations. Tap the plus symbol next to the invite to accept that person as a friend and to send an automatic message telling them. Tap the person’s name to visit their Path site or to send them a message. You’ll also receive the invitation in an email. Click the ‘Connect to’ button in the email to accept them on Path.

4. To share something on Path, tap the red plus symbol on the left and five icons will appear 1 . These let you post photos and text updates and mention where you are and what music you’re listening to. Tap the quotation marks to create a text update. You can add information about who you’re with and where you are using the two buttons below. Tap the padlock icon so only you can read it and then tap Add Friends to let others on your friends list view the post. Tap Save to post your update.

5. You can quickly respond to posts in your news feed by tapping the icon to the right of the post 1 . A small window will appear with a choice of emoticons, which you can include to express how you feel about the post. This pop-up also tells you how many people in your friends list have seen your post. Tap the comment text box to add your own update to the post. Your comments and emoticons will appear below the post.

6. Post a photo to Path by tapping the plus icon on the left, then the camera icon. Tap the left-hand button in the camera screen to add different effects 1 to the photo. You can use this to preview how an effect will look before you take your photo, but it’s probably better to add effects retrospectively. Tap the middle icon to take a photo. Use the icons at the bottom to change the filter, increase the brightness and crop the photo. Tap the tick icon to save a shot. Add text to describe the photo and tap Save to add photo and text to your news feed.

7. Group messages are ideal for organizing events between friends. Tap the group chat icon 1 , then ‘Start a Group Message’. Tap your friends’ names to add them. When you start typing names, your friends’ entries will appear below the search box. Tap the entry to select. When you have all the people you want in the list, tap Message at the top right and type your message. You can include an emoticon by tapping the face in the text box 2 . Once you’ve finished, tap Send. All friends included in the message will see the update. Tap the Group Message icon, then the conversation to see what people are saying.