10 November 2024

Home-cooked apps

Robin Sloan:

I made a messaging app for, and with, my family. It is ruthlessly simple; we love it; no one else will ever use it.

Through Rach Smith I came across this concept of home-cooked apps. It put into words a transition I've been making over the past year: Replacing popular, commercialised software with a self-made alternative tailored exactly to my needs and wants.

This isn't entirely new ground for me. I've used fairly extensive spreadsheets to track and visualise finances and exercise habits for a long time. But taking it up a notch and using an actual programming language to create entirely custom programs feels empowering on an entirely different level.

Inspired by Robin, I might make my next challenge something that can help me strengthen the bonds with my friends and my family.