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Launched writing app MVP

It's been three weeks since I started working on title.cx.

"The way to make your startup grow, is to make something users really love." – PG

Why I'm building it: I wanted a space to write privately online with other people - something minimalist where each keystroke felt special.

What launch means: I shared it with an early list of friends and family who I have mentioned it to over the past few weeks, and here too! I'm doing an invite-only thing, inspired by Dribbble's model, which helps keep the community active and high-quality.

What's next: I am really focused on building something I love. It'd be fun if others enjoyed it too, but after trying various failed projects that conceptually made sense or intellectually seemed "feasible", I'm really leaning into intuition and the advice to build for myself this time. Next, I'm focusing on building a delightful, peaceful, and calming writing experience. I want it to feel therapeutic. What's that look like feature-wise?

  • Publishing privately
  • Customizing titles
  • Basic discovery
  • Customizing the writing experience (toggle sound fx on/off, toggle lofi hiphop on/off, toggle ambient rain noise on/off)

Growth: I'm considering building a special set of features for National Novel Writing Month. I'm also thinking about focusing on more specific communities I know (i.e. queer writers). It's also somewhere I have unique understanding and access.

Thanks for the support! Give it a try and let me know what you think!

  1. 6

    nice i like the glitch animation on the logo.. nice touch!

    1. 4

      Glad you like it - thanks for checking it out!

  2. 4

    Oh also, the experience is really best on desktop right now. Mobile works and isn't bad, but it's a bit janky (I think because of autocorrect). If folks have feedback, I'm all ears! :)

    1. 2

      yeah I tried on mobile kinda was unusable (for writing at least)

      1. 2

        are you going for more longform content or short stuff? what do you think is the main use case?

        1. 1

          Length doesn't matter to me as much as the intent behind it. I use it for planning my day, daily journaling, but also wonder if I need to focus on something more specific. This is why I'm thinking about focusing on a specific community like the queer community. Have also toyed with focusing on even more niche things like erotic fiction, or something that direction b/c it seems well-suited to writing privately. TBD! Thanks for asking :)

          1. 2

            will there be divided or tagged communities for different niches?

            1. 1

              Do you have a specific niche in mind? I have been trying to think of a better solution than tags. Categories or communities could be cool to orient around.

      2. 1

        I have gotten mixed feedback. Some people said they liked being able to add mobile notes, but it's not really intended for "notes" (many good solutions for that already).

  3. 2

    Here's your feedback: https://title.cx/@7d7iyq/this-is-so-vydC2A

    Love it! On a side note - your server seems to be slow right now. It takes a while to load.

    1. 2

      Haha thank you! Appreciate the feedback and that you tried it out.

      Definitely need to optimize a bunch of assets still. Thanks for flagging the slowness.

  4. 2

    "I am really focused on building something I love"
    → Amazing. I think it's an important idea to continue to grow a valuable application. Keep going.

    1. 1

      Thank you! Me too. Hopefully I can make Title something valuable overtime, with more features. I think the strongest use case right now is just expressing thoughts and thinking "out loud" in a sense. It's really clarifying if people are overwhelmed emotionally. Thanks for checking it out!

  5. 2

    i love the design. out of curiosity, is there a reason to sign in using phone numbers instead of emails? esp if you say the experience is the best on desktop right now, too. i was a bit confused when the sign up page required a phone number instead of email (as that would be the default state for most users on most applications). as a writer myself, i love this idea and would love to give it a try.

    1. 1

      Honestly it just felt more "right". I think because phone numbers tend to encourage more 1:1 mapping between real identities and accounts, unless your pretty tech-savvy and use Google Voice or something. However, I think emails will be important to incorporate at some point for better account recovery and daily/weekly/monthly digests.

      I'm glad you found the concept intriguing! Try it out and let me know what you think. Most folks have asked about discovery, which is something planned for this coming week. Here is a preview of the design: https://imgur.com/a/cN5RYIu

      1. 2

        This comment was deleted 4 years ago.

        1. 1

          That's fair! I think email would probably work but I am not sure how to prevent low-quality accounts. The invite-only aspect would help, or I could keep phone number verification.

          Alternatively, what if it was clearer we weren't going to notify you via SMS? It's really just for account access/recovery purposes.

          Re: no recourse, I am based in the U.S. so am not sure if this applies everywhere, but at least here I can reply "STOP" to most numbers and my carrier blocks them (or something happens that prevents them from contacting me).

  6. 2

    love the name and branding

  7. 2

    Title for "Title" seems important :P I really like the minimal aesthetic and absolutely love the sound effects. It'd be cool to control the volume of the typewriter click-clacking.

    1. 1

      Haha yes for sure - thanks for checking it out! Definitely think the volume control is important.

  8. 1

    Can you delete stuff? Made a dummy article but can't figure out how to delete it

  9. 1

    Hey Joel! Very cool. I love writing and think there's a need for better tools out there. Going to give it a shot!

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