Hi Gang, I am toying with the idea of using push notification with my apps but I wanted to test the water first before launching this baby. So, this post is more of an opinion poll about push notifications that a query. - What do you guys use push notification for? - A lot of apps seem to use it just as a reminder to the user (hey, do you remember me? use me , USE ME!!) - does this cheapens the app? - Are there any unwritten rules and no no's? - Can we do shameless advertisement with notifications if a third party pay us for it? - What is an appropriate frequency? Thanks for your opinion! Farcat

Hello, I just sent my iOS app in for approval with my new push feature enabled. I have been testing using parse.com. It seems to be working well. I plan on using it to notify my customers that there is an update within the app. My app is sort of specialized in that it has over 200 food menus specific to a certain food allergy and the menus change frequently. I can use a push notification to steer the customer in the right direction as to which menu was updated. I dont think that what I'm using push for cheapens the app. As far as unwritten rules, I don't know. As far as shameless advertising, if it were me receiving advertising through push notifications I would probably delete the app immediately after the first advertisement unless the app was free and I was told ahead of time that I was going to receive the ads. For me, the frequency of the push notifications would be as often as needed. Good luck

I started using http://codecanyon.net/item/advance-ios-apns/168673 and it seems to work for development. My app is still waiting for review, so I do not know about how well it works in production.

@Jake Chasan- That code uses the UDID device class and Apple deprecated it and are rejecting apps that use it for push notifications. I bought this several months ago and have gotten rejected by apple 6 times so I removed all the code and went with appoxee. I used this code and integrated it into the self hosted control panel great but that code is pretty pointless at this time

Hi farcat. I just started using parse push notification in my app "Pets 411". I am trying to encourage users to get more involved with my app with notifications like letting them know when another user uploads a photo or adds a business to the built in map. If I would use a push notification to advertise, it would only be to inform my users about another app of mine. I am trying to not be too frequent with the pushes. No more than once every three days. My numbers keep going up, so hopefully I am not chasing too many users away.

Does Parse work in Production? (Or Only in Development?)

Hey Jake, yes parse works in production. Just follow their instructions to the letter and it will work.

Weird, I did and it worked in development but not production.

jake - did you swap out the certs from dev to prod? Been a while since I integrated Parse though in apps though. Going down a different road these days...

@MacApple: What are you using for push?

@Farcat - What do you guys use push notification for? - Several uses. One app I do live push notifications for highlights during my soccer team matches. - A lot of apps seem to use it just as a reminder to the user (hey, do you remember me? use me , USE ME!!) - does this cheapens the app? - Not at all, not if you make it relevant. Users can opt in or out remember. - Are there any unwritten rules and no no's? - Don't spam, like most things interwebs. Make / Keep it relevant. - Can we do shameless advertisement with notifications if a third party pay us for it? - Don't see why not. I don't and never will. I hate adds but that is just silly old me. Be careful though as you do not want to alienate users. - What is an appropriate frequency? - I have an app for a realtor that pushes a couple of times a week for new listings. Soccer one 20 during a match, another just for key occasions in Scotland. For me, apps are the holy grail of marketing, if used correctly they can really add something.

@Jake Chasan Can I tell you in a day or two? Still doing final tests......

Sure

Thanks for the feedback guys, it is really helpful. Happy new year! Farcat