Projects

Decibel was a collaborative live-audio product built with friends from college. The core experience let someone start a live stream while listeners requested to join, which meant the engineering work had to handle real-time audio, mobile UX, session state, and the social dynamics of a live room.

We applied to Y Combinator before launch and were invited to interview, though the project did not end up funded.

Sitelytics was an iOS app for checking Amazon Associates earnings from a phone. There was no public API for the data I needed, so the app used local credential storage, a background web view, and injected JavaScript to retrieve reporting data from the existing web interface.

ZCarGuide grew from my own experience maintaining a Datsun 240Z into a content and listings site for other owners. It combined writing, search-driven growth, affiliate monetization, and custom WordPress/PHP work.

The listings section pushed the project beyond publishing into software: JavaScript and PHP on the front end, a WordPress plugin for maintaining inventory, and product decisions shaped by a specific enthusiast community.

Citros was a point-of-sale system for bars, and one of the largest solo systems I have built. It included a Swift iOS app, a PhoneGap-based Android app running on a rooted tablet, a Ruby/Sinatra REST API, PostgreSQL, and Socket.io communication.

The project also crossed into hardware: a custom tablet clamp designed for a fast-paced bar environment, LED/backlighting controlled by Arduino, and Bluetooth communication between the hardware and Android app.

CheerUpper was a 36-hour hackathon project built with Anthony DiMeo and Billy Sluder at the University of Maryland. It found tweets from people who seemed sad or discouraged, then let other users anonymously send positive replies through the CheerUpper Twitter account.

The project won Twitter's Best Use of API award, received an honorable mention from MetaMind, and earned coverage from outlets including Major League Hacking, The Daily Dot, CBC Radio, and ABC Australia's Future Tense.

YouTube RealTime turned timestamped YouTube comments into a synchronized feed that appeared beside the video as those moments arrived. Comments about 1:50 in a video would appear at 1:50 during playback.

The project received coverage from Mashable and CNET.

FIFA Encyclopedia was my first real internet project: a static site that grew into PHP and eventually a custom WordPress theme as traffic increased. I monetized it with Google AdSense and affiliate programs while learning how web publishing, search, and software fit together.

The site received more than 12 million lifetime impressions.