Frequently Asked Questions
If our FAQ's are not enough , please feel free to visit our getsatisfaction page and leave us a note, we will be glad to answer your questions there, or drop us a line @ support[at]pikchur[dot]com.
•You can also check out our about page here.
Click on a question to show answer
What is Pikchur?
Pikchur is a simple service that updates your social networks / micro-blogging platforms with pictures! No need to signup! Just login with one of our many supported platforms and start sending your Piks today!
Does it cost me anything?
Nope! Our service is completely free, but if you are sending photos from your mobile device, please verify with your wireless carrier with respect to your MMS/email capabilities and fees.
Pik & Geo Privacy
We take your privacy very seriously, we give you the option to make a Pik and or Geo location private.
If you make a Pik private, it will not show up on our public timeline or your public profile. This does not mean that no one can view it, they will just need a direct link to do so.
If you make your location private, the corresponding pik's geo location will be hidden from everyone but your self.
If you make a Pik private, it will not show up on our public timeline or your public profile. This does not mean that no one can view it, they will just need a direct link to do so.
If you make your location private, the corresponding pik's geo location will be hidden from everyone but your self.
How long does an MMS/email take to post?
On average it takes between 30s-1min for us to process your request. If you should see that it takes longer than 5 min for your post to be active please verify that the posting email you sent it to is valid, if so please feel free to contact us @ support[at]pikchur[dot]com.
What services do you support?
We currently support : Twitter, Tumblr, Jaiku, Facebook, FriendFeed, Identi.ca, Plurk, Brightkite, Totspo, Koornk, Flickr more to come soon...
What is a posting email and what the heck is MMS?
A Pikchur posting email is where you will be sending your photos to via MMS/email from your mobile device.
As far as your second question "What the heck is an MMS?", well an MMS stands for "Multimedia Messaging Service" it's how most phones send photos from one phone to another.
We accept both MMS and emails , if your photo does not show up within 5 minutes of sending please drop us a line @ support[at]pikchur[dot]com , with your service provider , and phone type so that we can resolve the issue.
As far as your second question "What the heck is an MMS?", well an MMS stands for "Multimedia Messaging Service" it's how most phones send photos from one phone to another.
We accept both MMS and emails , if your photo does not show up within 5 minutes of sending please drop us a line @ support[at]pikchur[dot]com , with your service provider , and phone type so that we can resolve the issue.
How do I post pictures to my accounts via my mobile device?
Updating your micro blogging and social networks "on the go" via your mobile device is what we do best here at Pikchur.
To update your accounts all you have to do is:
1) Login with one of the many supported platforms.
2-a) Create a pikchur posting email.
2-b) If you would like you can also sync all your other platforms while your at it under the "Accounts" tabs in your dashboard.
3) From your mobile device either by MMS or email send your photos to your "posting email". If you are using MMS, the "posting email" goes where you would normally place the phone number of the person you wish to send the photo to. For quick access the next time be sure to add your posting email to your phone book!
4) Please remeber to add a status message in the subject line of your MMS/email or leave the subject blank and enter your message in the body of your MMS/email.
To update your accounts all you have to do is:
1) Login with one of the many supported platforms.
2-a) Create a pikchur posting email.
2-b) If you would like you can also sync all your other platforms while your at it under the "Accounts" tabs in your dashboard.
3) From your mobile device either by MMS or email send your photos to your "posting email". If you are using MMS, the "posting email" goes where you would normally place the phone number of the person you wish to send the photo to. For quick access the next time be sure to add your posting email to your phone book!
4) Please remeber to add a status message in the subject line of your MMS/email or leave the subject blank and enter your message in the body of your MMS/email.
Can I override posting on the go?
Glad you asked, we have a basic trigger system which will override your posting settings on the go! We have plans to include some pretty slick custom triggers really soon, but for now refer to this list of service triggers.
To override any of the services you are posting to simply include the trigger in the body of your Email/MMS message in the following format :
To turn posting OFF for a service: -triggername-
To turn posting ON for a service: +triggername+
To override any of the services you are posting to simply include the trigger in the body of your Email/MMS message in the following format :
To turn posting OFF for a service: -triggername-
To turn posting ON for a service: +triggername+
Twitter
( tw )
Tumblr
( tr )
Jaiku
( jk )
Facebook
( fb )
FriendFeed
( ff )
Plurk
( pl )
Identi.ca
( id )
Rejaw
( rj )
Koornk
( ko )
Totspot
( ts )
Brightkite
( bk )
Flickr
( fk )
Here is an example of a picture with override triggers. This will not post the picture to pownce or Friendfeed, indicated by -pw- and -ff-. The picture will however post to Tumblr and Twitter since +tr+ and +tw+ are specified.
What is a Pikchur password for?
Pikchur has recently enabled the ability to create a Pikchur password. This Pikchur password and your current display name can be used to authenticate with Pikchur.com via the login screen or any third party application.
What do you need a contact email for?
We do not require a contact email and we promise, this email isn't for spam :)
By adding your contact email you will enable us to activate certain features that you might be interested in.
• One of these features is our comment reply system, basically it will email you when someone has commented on one of your photos.
• A second reason why you should save your contact email is in the event you get locked out of your account because of a change in username/password on a supported service or if you forgot your Pikchur password. In this case, all you would have to do is request that your Pikchur display name and password be sent to you via email, and lickety split you'll be able to log back into your account, re-sync any desired accounts and remedy the issue.
By adding your contact email you will enable us to activate certain features that you might be interested in.
• One of these features is our comment reply system, basically it will email you when someone has commented on one of your photos.
• A second reason why you should save your contact email is in the event you get locked out of your account because of a change in username/password on a supported service or if you forgot your Pikchur password. In this case, all you would have to do is request that your Pikchur display name and password be sent to you via email, and lickety split you'll be able to log back into your account, re-sync any desired accounts and remedy the issue.
What is Oauth ?
OAuth is an open protocol, initiated by Blaine Cook and Chris Messina, to allow secure API authorization in a simple and standard method for desktop, mobile and web applications. With this protocol you will never be required to give your password out to 3rd party applications. So for instance, if you choose to add Totspot to your list of accounts we won't ask for your Totspot password. Instead we will initiate an OAuth request for us to post to your Totspot account. Once approved your Totspot account will be ready to go. For a more detailed read see http://oauth.net/about/
What delivery methods does Pikchur currently support?
We currently support 6 methods of posting Piks. Web,Mobile, Device Specific , Bookmarklet, API, and Custom apps.
• Web - Piks posted from the upload form on the site will be tagged with this source.
• Mobile - Piks that are sent in via mobile devices, for now they are generalized,
• Device - In some cases we are able to determine the exact device the Pik was sent from and display it as its origin.
• Bookmarklet - Piks that are sent in from our nifty bookmarklet. (These are the funniest Piks on the site :-D)
•API and Custom Apps - These tags belong to Piks that come in via apps that are built on top of our API. These will either be tagged with a default API tag, or a specific app, such as iKoo.
• Web - Piks posted from the upload form on the site will be tagged with this source.
• Mobile - Piks that are sent in via mobile devices, for now they are generalized,
• Device - In some cases we are able to determine the exact device the Pik was sent from and display it as its origin.
• Bookmarklet - Piks that are sent in from our nifty bookmarklet. (These are the funniest Piks on the site :-D)
•API and Custom Apps - These tags belong to Piks that come in via apps that are built on top of our API. These will either be tagged with a default API tag, or a specific app, such as iKoo.
Why should I signup for a Pikchur Account?
Well, first off this step is completely optional. You can use Pikchur.com by logging in with any of our supported platforms. There are however, two main reasons why you should create an account:
• Don't get locked out - Say you are used to logging in to Pikchur with your Twitter account and that's the only account you have synced. All of a sudden someone decides to stalk you and you change your Twitter username and or password. Next time you try to login to Pikchur you will trick us in to thinking you are a new twitter user.. not good :-( . You can always drop us a line and we will sort this out for you, but we prefer to get a little sleep in. So if you have a global Pikchur account / password, you can always use it to log in and sync or edit your Twitter, or any other account you may want to add.
• Only publish to Pikchur - Some users prefer to not republish links or photos on their micro-blogging / Social networks. If you fall in to this case this option is for you. This means that you can publish your photos to Pikchur and use one of our nifty sharing methods (RSS, embed code, direct links) to get your photos out there. An example of this would be to add your Pikchur RSS feed to FriendFeed, from now on any time you send in a Pik it will show up on your FriendFeed timeline!
• Don't get locked out - Say you are used to logging in to Pikchur with your Twitter account and that's the only account you have synced. All of a sudden someone decides to stalk you and you change your Twitter username and or password. Next time you try to login to Pikchur you will trick us in to thinking you are a new twitter user.. not good :-( . You can always drop us a line and we will sort this out for you, but we prefer to get a little sleep in. So if you have a global Pikchur account / password, you can always use it to log in and sync or edit your Twitter, or any other account you may want to add.
• Only publish to Pikchur - Some users prefer to not republish links or photos on their micro-blogging / Social networks. If you fall in to this case this option is for you. This means that you can publish your photos to Pikchur and use one of our nifty sharing methods (RSS, embed code, direct links) to get your photos out there. An example of this would be to add your Pikchur RSS feed to FriendFeed, from now on any time you send in a Pik it will show up on your FriendFeed timeline!
Location Based Posting and Checking In?
You can update location based platforms by simply adding a little convention to your messages.
In addition, this will update the location of your Piks on our map view.
Simply add * your location * and we will check you in before posting your Pik! Easy as that.
Example: I just saw this insane penguin on the road near work * 123 SW ABC St * .
Some phones like the iPhone GeoTag photos and if you do not send us an over ride command of * location * we will use the Geo Coordinates embedded in your Pik.
GeoTaging Order:
1) Override Sent
2) GeoTaged Pik (if available by senders mobile device)
3) "Location" saved in your Pikchur profile.
In addition, this will update the location of your Piks on our map view.
Simply add * your location * and we will check you in before posting your Pik! Easy as that.
Example: I just saw this insane penguin on the road near work * 123 SW ABC St * .
Some phones like the iPhone GeoTag photos and if you do not send us an over ride command of * location * we will use the Geo Coordinates embedded in your Pik.
GeoTaging Order:
1) Override Sent
2) GeoTaged Pik (if available by senders mobile device)
3) "Location" saved in your Pikchur profile.
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