Starting my side project
Feb 18, 2016 Development Side project ManagementI was thinking to work on a side project for a long time, but I had no clear idea about the kind of project. I want to work on something I like, a product usefull for me hoping it may be usefull also for others. In the same way I want to learn new things, experimenting new frameworks, new languages, new technologies.
But this is not the only reason I’d like to work on a side project. As Lee Munroe wrote in his post Side Projects Are Your Playground,
[side projects] let you learn new things, have fun and experiment.
Unlike a typical day job, you get to be in control. You get to do what you want to do. No clients. No managers. No bureaucracy. And you get to ship your own product.
One of the reasons I developed it [Flask.io, a simple to-do list website] is to experiment. I decide what tools I want to try. I use them and determine if they are useful. I don’t need to train anyone else. I don’t need to ask for permission. I don’t need to hold a meeting. I just do it.
Having a side project with active users is extremely valuable. Even if you don’t make money from it, or actively develop it, just having it there to play with gives you an environment to try and learn new things. And who knows where it will lead to. Lots of great ideas and companies start off on the side, and as you learn from your users you can grow it into something bigger. The important thing is to ship something.
I wanted to work on an Android app and I thought my first app could be a todo list. But I found a post by Val Okafor titled Ten Tips for Building Your First Android App where he depicted his ten tips for building own first Android app and ship it.
- App Idea - Pick an existing app in the store
- Keep it simple - 2 to 5 screen
- Plan it out - Draw a picture
- Commit to ship it - do not change your mind
- Build Native app - Use Android Studio and Java
- Implement Behavior first - embrace the Fragments
- Implement In App Purchases - hide behind the pay-wall
- Get the Strings - makes translation easier
- Copypasta - be mindful of what you copy
- Git from the start - commit often
So I decided to create an Android app with the main feature to save a url of an article/post I’m interested in to read it later. This way I collect interesting stuff with bookmark purpose.