i killed my own project by being too nice

i killed my own project by being too nice

so. redflags.devmatei.com.

i built this thing that gives you music red flags based on your listening history. plug in your last.fm, listenbrainz, or navidrome and it'd roast you a little. "Same Track Rotation", "Comfort Zone Core", "Artist Monogamy", that kind of stuff. i was actually pretty proud of it, posted it on a bunch of subreddits, and within the first minute the traffic was already coming in. i was both excited and lowkey panicking watching the numbers go up.

and then someone commented "disappointing" and i deleted everything.

all the posts. gone. looking back that was genuinely one of the worst decisions i've made lmao, i fully regret it. but i get why i did it. that one word hits different when you're already anxious about whether what you built is actually good.

the real problem though

the comment wasn't wrong.

the flags WERE too general. and the reason they were too general is entirely my fault, i made them that way on purpose. i wanted everyone who used the tool to get *something*, no matter what their listening looked like. the idea was that nobody should open it and feel like "oh i'm just boring i didn't get anything." sweet intention right?

yeah it killed the whole point.

when everyone gets a flag, the flags mean nothing. "Same Track Rotation" sounds like a fun callout until you realize basically anyone who has a favourite song gets it. "Comfort Zone Core"? congrats, you listen to music you like, here's your red flag. it's not a red flag at that point, it's just a participation trophy with a spicy name.

the personality wasn't there either. the flags were neutral, safe, almost corporate. no bite, no specificity, nothing that made you go "okay how did it KNOW." and that's the whole fun of these things. the moment it feels weirdly accurate is the moment you screenshot it and send it to your friends.

i was so focused on making sure nobody felt left out that i forgot to make it actually interesting for anyone.

what i should've done

made it mean something. if only 30% of people get "Artist Monogamy" because they genuinely listen to like two artists on repeat for months, that flag becomes a flex. or an identity. people would screenshot it specifically *because* they didn't get it or because they did. exclusivity is the whole game with these shareable things.

the flags needed personality too. less "Comfort Zone Core" (sounds like a wellness app), more something that makes you laugh or cringe or both.

anyway

i'm probably gonna rebuild it at some point and actually make it ruthless. no participation trophies, no softballing. if your music taste is unhinged it's gonna tell you, and if it's basic it's gonna tell you that too.

and next time someone comments "disappointing" i'm gonna fix the project instead of nuking the posts smh

stay tuned lads :P <3