plants app 🌱, gta radio 📻 and more - (#001)
what's next to build from Emre Can Acer episode one - 04.05.21
time flies ✈️
So it’s been May already.. Summer has arrived, sun is shining again🥤and 2021 feels like, someone played with the time settings and made it at least x5. Recently, I’ve watched 🍿a video from David Eagleman, who’s the Neil deGrasse Tyson of neuroscience for who doesn’t know him.
He explains the science behind our perception of time 🕐. Basically, when we use our brain actively, we live longer (we perceive more) and when we do automated tasks (like brushing our teeth) we live shorter (perceive less) - so, when you live your days similar, you feel like time flies ✈️; but when you challenge your brain to do new things, what you’d perceive as a day will be longer 🤯.
The real challenge in this situation is, our brain loves to automate tasks like riding a bike, working etc. so we need to challenge our selves to change our routines. Yet, I couldn’t care less - if I spend my time fun and happy, I wouldn’t try to make it longer. Here’s the full video ->
plants app 🌱
Note App is now a young adult who can survive by her own. There are some fundamental features that I’d like to add but every single feature takes time and when you try to include them in the product, you’ll never launch the product. Apps are always releasing updates, it’s a continuous journey, so at one point you have to decide on the mvp features and release it. At this point Note App is working perfect, without any bugs and doing what it has to do.
I will be adding these updates slowly and continuing my trials to create viral tiktok contents but in order to keep the momentum growing 💥, I had to move on.
While I’ve been building note app’s website, with a beautiful serendipity, I’ve met with Netlify ✨.
So,
I’m now hosting my website for free 🤯 and have the full creativity for it. In another episode, I’d love to explain how netlify works because it’s super easy to use. For the design of the website, I acted very pragmatic - all I wanted was moving my hosting from wordpress to Netlify quickly so I thought that I can change the design later on but for now I used Jordan Singer’s awesome code.
Finally about the plants app 🌱 - I’m currently working on a side project called fludy app on swift on my weekends, which is a meditative sounds app project that I’m doing with two of my friends. But on Saturday morning, I woke up and wanted really hard to build an app in a day - or at least on the weekend.
👆🏻Here was where the inspiration was coming from.
As you might know, I’ve challenged myself to create a product per month to learn coding while I started building the note app back then.
First I thought about building a habits app, it felt charming. Then I started researching and I designed an app on my mind called “Today”. It basically minimally combines your tasks and your habits and organizes your day. 🧹 It would be a really nice product that wouldn’t fit on a weekend sprint. I decided to build it next but for the weekend, I had to build something bite sized 🍪. Finally I decided on plant watering tracker app.
On saturday, I built the basic structure and did the branding.🪴 ilkimnira drew a cute app icon. On the evening, I had a meeting for Vendiras, which is a side project health app that I’m doing with my friends.
On Sunday, I started the coredata part, did a decent progress but currently trying to solve the image part (storing image on coredata). About entering a new plant design, I imagined that, the user can either upload an image or choose from defaults, also the user can create a random name for her plant. - Hopefully I will continue and 🛳 the app on the upcoming weekend.
And finally, I got the plantsapp.me domain 🤞🏻
this week’s products 📻
- gta radio
For most of us, gta had entered our minds and took a handsome place. For me, gta vice city means my childhood and all the great memories. I’ve seen this product and loved it immediately because it beautifully touched on my feelings and made me happy. I love the way the maker put all those little details (radios, touring in the cities, the overall design) to create a great experience. kudos 🙌🏻
- yes promo
Free database of 100+ successful self promotion Reddit posts
https://yespromo.me/
- startup video directory
A curated list of the best startup product videos
https://typestudio.co/resources/product-videos
- Hey Parents
Curated books for curious parents
*gotta start reading them someday 👀
https://www.heyparents.fyi
- FigJam 🎨⚡️
This is actually HUGE. I loved it, for me it’s been a need - I was looking for a giant whiteboard where I could freely write, mark, draw, create mood boards, inspiration boards etc. Finally, they created it and I loved it, to be honest it’s beyond my exceptions and I’d love to play with it. 🖌
https://www.figma.com/figjam/
this week’s designs
- Thrum ☁️
As a haptic feedback enthusiast, I really liked the app and I liked the clean, minimal design.
https://apps.apple.com/nz/app/thrum-haptic-meditation/id1540174649
- Carrot ☂️
It’s one of the most unique and engaging app I’ve ever tried. You should try it, lot’s of lessons to take from here.
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/carrot-weather/id961390574
this week’s articles 📰
I was looking for an efficient way to store 🗂 the articles that I’ve been reading. I also wanted to include the notes that I took while reading them. I’ve found this default notion template this week and totally loved it! a better product than I imagined and wanted.
I basically set it up like this - the most important properties for me are; name, category, status, link, type, read date and my notes on the article, the rest is kind of showing off.
- Jobs to be done
This week I mostly read articles on jobs to be done method. It basically tells couple of things, (I’ll link the spotlight articles) the feeling of the user’s desire to evolve into something is more important than everything.
imo Redbull and Apple do it the best. Redbull creates vicarious experiences via marketing and ads and shines their product as a product which makes someone do extreme things. So, if you want to be a cool guy who do extreme things with lot’s of adrenaline, they create an illusion that, when you use redbull you get one step closer to the guy you’re craving to become.
So, it’s not about personas, or it’s not about the features of the products, but it’s attacking the desires and hopes of people by creating a perception that, the product will move them closer to their transformative goal.
Yet, those methods are not science laws - they’re just practical methods for helping us to build better products by understanding the human nature better. So, I don’t believe in strictly using formulas or functions but taking what it’s trying to tell and pragmatically use when they’re needed.
And lastly, all the above are my take on what I’ve read, not strictly what jobs to be done is putting on the table. And here are the spotlight articles to understand the topic;
https://medium.com/make-us-proud/jobs-to-be-done-framework-748c761797a8
https://medium.com/swlh/jobs-to-be-done-theory-helps-you-to-create-better-products-a47f94a56214
this week’s songs 🎧
A day in the life (spotify)
Pixaim *: Pixaim (spotify)
help herself (spotify)
thank you for reading and wish you an amazing week 🙌🏻
I’m so excited to get a random name for my pink cactus 💕🌵 Can’t wait to see what’s next to build!!! Now, I am on my way to spotify to listen this week’s songs 😍