Washington - A single day on a well-planned vacation can feel longer and more substantive than several work weekdays combined. Whether you're exploring deserted beaches, marvelling at world-class architecture or enjoying a family getaway, a great trip also provokes the desire to document it.
Days, a social media app that chronicles a day in a user's life, helps capture events worth reliving. The free app allows users to create a virtual, and shareable, scrapbook of photos and GIFs. Though not specifically intended as a travel-focused program, Days lends itself to action-packed periods of time.
How it works: Take photos either inside the app or with your phone's native camera, and upload into the program. Write captions and share on other social media sites and by email. Photos are grouped into 24-hour time periods beginning and ending at 5 a.m., which works for late-night revellers or early risers.
The app, launched in May 2013 by Wander, which was recently acquired by Yahoo, animates photos taken within 10 seconds of each other. The result is GIF-like files that give daily photo albums a little movement, though the images can be separated into stand-alone photos if the user wants.
Accidentally miss a day? Days allows users to go back several cycles and fill in Saturday even if it's already Monday morning, though, to restrict cheating, the app does not allow users to alter a photo's time stamp.
Days founder Jeremy Fisher hopes to change the way people think about sharing photos. “We have lots of daily habits around content consumption, but almost none around content creation,” Fisher says. “One of our goals with Days was to change that by transforming content creation (photo-taking and -sharing) from an ad hoc behaviour into a daily habit.”
Even if it doesn't sound appealing to capture a typical breakfast or trip to the office, the app is perfect for illustrating special periods for family and friends.
I tested Days while visiting my home town for a wedding. On Monday, I was able to upload photos from Saturday, from applying makeup and getting my hair done with fellow bridesmaids, to waiting for the ceremony, to the first dance. Then I texted the gallery to the bride, who will be able to scroll through moments from her wedding day long after she returns from her honeymoon.
Overall, the app is easy to use and easier to share — Facebook and Twitter handles can be added or accounts can be kept private. Importing several dozen photos at one time can be problematic, however, and causes occasional crashes.
Even folks who don't intend to make photo snapping and sharing a daily habit, can turn special days into beautiful timelines for review on a boring Tuesday. - Washington Post