What’s next
I got laid off. I bear no ill feelings, but it changes my situation: I have to start creating and working on my portfolio again.
I’ll talk about what’s actually important: where do I go from here. I forgot the expression but essentially: the past is finite, the present a moment, and the future infinite. Here’s what I’m going to start doing:
- Fix my resumé and start applying for jobs.
- Write a few blog posts here and there.
- Work on the next job for my portfolio and occasionally my next book.
.I have so many ideas for projects and my book that I couldn’t start because of not having any free time between the kids and my job. While I was thinking about what’s something truly artistic that I want to create with a project it’s this:
A “multiplayer” canvas where anyone can create anything that a DOM with limited JavaScript could create. You can draw on it or arrange DOM elements like div
s or even something more complicated like an svg
or canvas
. It would have these features:
- A playground area that are public spaces with whoever joins (probably sharded to a limited number of users)
- Private rooms with limited occupants (by invitation or just yourself)
- Chat in groups and private chat
The first place I’m going to start is #3. I want to create persistent, e2e encrypted chat. I’ve used sockets before but in a limited way, and I want to get more familiar. Then I know nothing about e2e encryption (other than a few articles I’ve read), and then I have to figure out how to persist encrypted messages to a database/kv store like Redis. I plan on having the following MVPs (minimum viable products for the non-nerds):
- Decide if I will use a fullstack framework like Phoenix in Elixir or Rust to make an independent backend with API endpoints. I’m leaning toward the former, but it’s something to consider.
- Private, unencrypted 1:1 chat
- Encrypted chat
- Group chats without encryption
- Group chats with encryption
- Persistence to a database (maybe Postgres or I could use something like Mongo, this is a big TBD)
- Usage of a K/V store
I plan to use my own styling and try to focus heavily on UX. I previously focused heavily on accessibility for my blog, and the UX is only alright (though I love the side menu). I also want to try out lots of new things like buttons with gradients, more interesting interactive state, things like graphics, etc. I want to get out of my comfort state and create something unique.
Expect more updates as I progress on that. Or don’t if I find a job and myself without time again.