Unexpected Success; How My Time-Telling App Took Reddit by Storm
Last year, an intriguing idea sparked within me: an application that tells time through progress bars, visually representing the passage of time as a percentage. Drawing from my experience with Apache Cordova, a versatile tool for cross-platform app development, I believed it was the perfect fit for bringing this concept to life.
Apache Cordova’s rapid workflow had always been a boon for me, enabling swift integration of HTML/JS into a cross-platform container. As u/pg3crypto aptly describes it:
“The workflow is so damned fast. I can throw together a project using nothing more than Bootstrap and some Javascript (whatever library I choose), drop it into a Cordova project and bang there’s my app.”
However, my plans to launch the app on Play Store hit a snag due to the initial $25 registration fee. I stashed the code in a GitHub repository, intending to return to it later. But life took its course, and the project slipped into the recesses of my memory.
Then, a text from a friend served as a wake-up call, reminding me of the dormant app now a year overdue. Determined to revive it, I embarked on resurrecting the project. Yet, I faced a new challenge—Apache Cordova had advanced to a newer version, rendering my previous code incompatible. Frustrated with the inability to compile for Android, I pivoted, choosing to deploy a browser-based version hosted on Firebase’s free spark tier.
Following the initial deployment, an impulse nudged me to share my creation on r/sideproject, a subreddit dedicated to exchanging feedback on personal projects. Simultaneously, I posted on r/dataisbeautiful, anticipating appreciation for the dashboard’s aesthetics.
The response overwhelmed me. The community’s enthusiastic reception, unexpected donations on BuyMeACoffee, a flurry of feature requests, bug fixes, and imaginative suggestions flooded in. The outpouring of support not only bolstered my confidence but also ignited my creativity. My GitHub repository blossomed with additional stars and followers, encouraging me further.
What astonished me most was the diverse directions suggested for the app’s evolution. Amidst these, a peculiar yet intriguing idea emerged—to craft a sentiment analysis script utilizing Reddit comments as feedback, a project currently in the works.