A stage, stickers, and lots of silly software

React Miami

I gave my first-ever conference talk last week at React Miami. The talk was called “Whimsy-Driven Development,” and I shared why you should build more silly software. tldr: because it’s fun :)

In my talk, I made a bunch of references to silly software that has inspired me. See the full list here.

Christina on stage at React Miami

It was really touching to see people’s reception. Several of you came up to me afterward to share silly software that you’ve made:

  • Kaylee made a cookie banner that makes you play Plinko to choose your cookie settings.
  • Kayla made an Apple Watch drawing app for a young family member to play with.
  • Juan told me that he was so inspired by the talk that he bought a domain that night. He’s building a Mother’s Day app for his mom and his wife. So sweet!

Thanks for building silly software with me! It’s such an honor to see you all have fun and deeply enjoy the magic of coding.

Silly Software Club stickers

I even made these Silly Software Club stickers to pass out. When we meet in person, I’ll give you one!

This month’s whimsical projects

Alanna made a video game about knitting. But she didn’t stop there. She hand-knitted an arcade console to put it in.

Something that you should know about me: I am obsessed with knitting. So when I saw this project, I flipped out a little bit.

Loose Ends: a game about knitting

See project

I love projects like this that blend physical and digital craftsmanship.

That brings me to our next project: Ziney.

Pauline, the creator of Digibouquet, is back with another whimsical project. With this app, you can design a digital zine and share it in the virtual gallery. My favorite one is called 8 Dogs. It’s just… 8 dogs.

Even NASA makes silly software now. NASA’s Kennedy Space Center made a tool that lets you see your name written in landscapes captured by Landsat.

This was likely inspired by a really beautiful branding project out of Brazil that dropped this month.

My IRL friend and Resend teammate, Chris, made a tamagotchi for Claude code. It lets you approve or reject requests, clean up poops, and take care of a digital pet. If you wait too long in between vibe coding sessions, your pet dies. No pressure.

Neal made a website called Cursor Camp that lets our cursors hang out. Hunt for shells, put on hats, and gather around a campfire to watch a movie together. This one has major Club Penguin vibes. What a site.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this month’s projects!

Send me a DM to share your favorite silly software. Maybe it’ll make it into the next issue!

xoxo, Christina