James' Audiolog: Indie.am

I'm currently walking through a park on my way home, and I felt like sharing some thoughts about my journey as a founder. This year, I've dedicated a lot of time to various projects, almost everything except my primary business. A friend of mine humorously referred to this period as my "maker vacation," and indeed, it's been quite an extended one—about four months, starting back in December.

During this time, I've accomplished several things:

This journey has been a mix of learning, experimenting, and achieving milestones, even if they weren't directly related to my main business.

Hey, this is James. I maintain an audio log on indie.am, and today, I wanted to try something new by posting an audio log on BitClout.

This is the first audio log I'm sharing on BitClout, and I'm curious to hear your thoughts on it.

Let me know what you think!

It's fascinating how individuals develop deep expertise or think profoundly about a specific aspect of the Internet, a product, a company, or a problem. This deep dive often leads to a series of innovative ideas, all sparked from that unique insight or perspective they cultivate.

The traditional startup advice from two decades ago emphasized the importance of having a unique insight. This insight was seen as crucial for providing a distinctive perspective on solving a problem or founding a company. The question often asked was: What is your unique insight that gives you a unique perspective for solving this problem or founding this company?

Today, especially for product designers and founders, the focus has shifted. The modern approach asks: What have you deeply explored in this field? This question encourages individuals to delve deeply into their area of interest, fostering a deeper understanding and leading to innovative solutions and ideas.

By embracing this new perspective, individuals can harness their deep expertise to drive innovation and create impactful solutions in their respective fields.

I have this theory that Twitter DMs and your social graph on Twitter are replacing Slack in 2021. If you think of Slack or Discord as your team collaboration infrastructure, they were traditionally siloed within just your company. You didn't work with people outside of your company, or if you did, that was the exception, not the rule.

Now, if you're starting a new business in 2021, networking, or talking to people, this is largely happening on Twitter. Your social graph on Twitter is becoming more important, especially as a founder, than your real buyer or company graph on Slack.

In essence, Twitter is evolving into a crucial platform for business communication and networking, surpassing traditional tools like Slack, which were once confined to internal company use.

When Paul Graham wrote his first essays, the prevailing advice for startups was clear: don't worry about your competitors coming along and copying you. The fear of a big company, like Google, replicating your product was not considered a significant threat. There were numerous reasons why startups failed, and being copied was rarely one of them.

The first notable exception to this rule was Justin Kan’s calendar startup. It was essentially an early version of Google Calendar. Whether it was a direct copy or just a similar product that Google had already been developing before Kiko launched is debatable. Nonetheless, it marked a shift in the landscape.

For at least a decade after Graham's essays were published, this advice held strong. Startups rarely saw their products copied outright by competitors. It was a period where innovation and unique value propositions were the main focus, rather than the fear of being replicated.

While the landscape has evolved, and the threat of being copied has become more prevalent, the foundational advice from Paul Graham's early essays remains relevant. Startups should focus on creating unique and valuable products, rather than being overly concerned about potential copycats.

I'm just curious—how much Pokémon Go are you guys playing these days? Is it a lot? I bet it's a lot.

Let's dive into the world of Pokémon Go and see how this game continues to capture our attention and time. Whether you're a casual player or a dedicated trainer, there's always something new to explore.

One of the greatest perks of purchasing a new MacBook is the opportunity to start fresh. It's like declaring bankruptcy on all the clutter that has accumulated in your downloads folder, settings, and configurations. All those little things that have gone awry in your current environment can be wiped away, allowing you to begin anew.

With a new MacBook, you gain:

And let's not forget the most exciting aspect—it's a brand new MacBook! Enjoy the sleek design, improved performance, and the satisfaction of a clean, efficient workspace.

Wow, the Donkey Kong vs. Iguana movie was actually really impressive! Congratulations to everyone involved!

All my friends who used to work with me are thrilled to see HBO Max making waves again. This movie is helping push the app back to the top of the iTunes charts, which is fantastic news.

I especially enjoyed the ending—though don't worry, I won't spoil it for you. However, I will say that the title is incredibly misleading.

Overall, it's a must-watch!

It's happening—YouTube is finally cloning TikTok with their new beta product called Shorts. However, the user interface (UI) for Shorts is, well, not great. It's not amazing.

About a year ago, I created a little clone of the TikTok UI just for fun. During that process, I realized something crucial: for the experience to work, the video must fill the screen completely. This edge-to-edge display is essential.

Unfortunately, YouTube Shorts often crops videos and adds black bars, which really breaks the mobile experience. Instead of a seamless flow, you're swiping up and down through what feels like a vertical slideshow—similar to stories, but with a vertical orientation.

This UI choice disrupts the immersive experience that TikTok has mastered, where each video fully engages the viewer without distractions.

I wasn't sure where to share this, so I decided to make it an audio blog post. I realized I've never really discussed the true motivation behind creating the A.M. app. Initially, I was captivated by the idea, but there was a deeper reason that drove me to develop it.

The primary reason for diving into this project was my limited experience in building and launching complete mobile apps for iOS or Android. My entire business revolves around one simple cross-platform mobile app. Remarkably, it's the first app I ever published on the App Store.

While I have contributed to larger apps and collaborated on projects with others, the A.M. app represented a personal challenge. It was an opportunity to enhance my skills and gain more hands-on experience in mobile app development.

In summary, the journey of building the A.M. app was less about the initial idea and more about expanding my capabilities and experience in the world of mobile applications.