#appin5days

Yep, we did it.  Michael Bates and me (Blake Seufert), built a social network in just 5 days.  Some said it couldn’t be done, and they may have been right.

Before we had this idea to write an app in 5 days we’d always wanted to explore the idea of creating a social network.  To us, it makes sense that the future of social media would be in “micro” social networks. Networks for fashion, networks for astronomy enthusiasts etc.  Similar to the various communities or pages that exist on Facebook or Google+, we believe that these networks will graduate into their own “micro social networks”.

Only after reading ‘Execute’ by Josh Long and Drew Wilson did we think seriously about building an app in 5 days. We both liked the idea of achieving something huge in a small amount of time.  Taking any longer than 5 days would be impractical for our busy schedules, so we carved out 5 days in our January holidays and put everything else aside.  We were going to build a micro social network for fashion: it sounded like a lot of fun that would be easy to implement, maintain and be some fun for the holidays.

Fun it was!

So we began - after organising an office, a film crew, a teaser website, Facebook page, and hosting we set off with high ambitions.  In true Australian style the weather baked us, and the enormity of the task shook us. The sheer stress of pulling it off start to show.  The days were filled with on the spot decision making and the glorious feeling of fast progress.  When an issue bogged us down, the pressure to overcome it was enormous. One or two issues that sucked up too much time would mean not finishing.  That said, we excelled, pushed our limits and had a great time doing it.

For how it all unfolded, you can read our daily updates over at our blog: http://www.quinella.co/

The Big Lessons

Time

In the 5 days we really managed our time well - we were mindful of getting stuck or spending too much time on one task.  We knew pulling late nights to stick to the plan was imperative.  We should have been more realistic about the time it was going to take to build all the mechanics of a social network (following, friending, commenting etc).  This stuff took up so much time and didn’t really add “value”, just feature parity to other products.  We should have backed ourselves to follow another idea path and not play it so safe.

Communication

We both knew when to throw each other work and we kept on the same page about the most difficult problems.  Without our cool heads and constant feedback we wouldn’t have made it through.  

Underestimation & Confidence

Whilst we were confident we could get it done, we should have had the confidence to rescope our idea, or picked a totally different idea that doesn’t have all the nuances of a social network.  We wanted to build a whole lot more features, like photo filters and fix some of the bigger bugs (like picking existing photos without them being “squashed”). The photo taking and storing side of things really took a lot more time than we anticipated.  Cost was another factor - running this project with its web service costs money and we decided early on we wanted the app to be free.  It was unclear how much the hosting would set us back, but as it’s turned out, it’s too much.

Design & Differentiation

We came up with a rather fresh take on a “feed” view where you swipe fullscreen left to right to view your feed.  You can tap to see the overlay of information: it works well, feels natural and overall we’re quite proud of it. But looking back, we feel we should have introduced something more fresh and radical to really separate us.

Think Big, Start Smaller

We were thinking too big - writing an entire social network in just 5 days is insane.  Where we went wrong was trying to do too much.  We have to start smaller, much much smaller.

Where to from here

Building something like this in 5 days is exhilarating, stressful but ultimately a lot of fun.  We loved the challenge, but we have to be realistic.  Because it was created so quickly the app has bugs, and fixing them doesn’t really seem like #Appin5days anymore.  It seems like we’re building a business around a social network.  The problem being, neither Michael nor myself have the understanding of how to market and launch a social network.  We’re not from the fashion industry or have any contacts to leverage in any way.  It doesn’t make business sense to continue and we have to focus on the projects where we impact the world in the biggest way possible.

So with a heavy heart we have to shut down Onme.  It’s been a crazy ride; thanks to EVERYONE who supported us, encouraged us or just liked our page!  We loved doing this and hope that the experiment can stand as a resource and an example of what can be achieved in any budget, in any timeline.

And we're away! App in 5 days has begun!

This morning we planned out the basic interface and what we need to achieve each day to get it done! Login screen is done and check out our rudimental designs and todo lists on our blackboards.

Also check our development board (todo list) on trello to track what we're up to!  You can follow along and even vote on things.

The rumours are true!  This sunday we begin the process of building an iPhone app, except we're building it in just 5 days - from envisioning the idea to submitting it to the App Store.

At this point we only have a name and the seed of an idea.  We've cleared an office space for ourselves and will begin Day 1 (This Sunday) - Designing the App!  We have only 5 days to complete the app and are filming the whole process, literally anything can happen!  

Throughout the day we'll be posting our thoughts, images, videos, you name it.  Watch Blake's Dribble or Instagram account to see the various stages of the graphic design, and Michael will be updating twitter and the blog to talk more about the platform and the technologies we're using.  Plus we'll be talking about the rollercoaster of making an app and what our frustrations and positive moments are each day!

So follow our journey and catch all the highs and lows:

How to Follow us:

#appin5days

Our Facebook Page 

Our Blog

Onme Website

Blake: Twitter  Google+  Dribbble  Instagram

Michael Bates: Twitter  Facebook

#Appin5Days is just around the corner and we're busily getting things in order for our first foray into the app world!

Check us out clearing out the office & make sure you follow along with us to see how we progress!  Just like the FB page (and if you're really nice re-share it).

Looking forward to getting started!