On March 1st, 2006 I started my first blog. It was called Site A Month (siteamonth.com - domain spam now). The goal was to produce a new "site" each month. Some of the projects didn't end up as actual sites, so the name ended up not being that great. The goal was to try new technologies, so not actually producing a site for a month didn't mean failure.

All the posts have been moved to this blog. You can see them if you scroll back far enough in the archives. They are truly awful, so don't do it. Here's the first post which covers the "Mission Statement".

Rules

• I had a calendar month to design, build, and launch the project.
• I had to use at least one new technology for each site.
• I didn't want to have to manage/contribute to the site when I finished, so it had to be low maintenance once launched.

March 2006 - RSStalker.com

Status

Still Active

Idea

The originally idea was a tool where a user could enter an Amazon product id and it would generate an RSS feed for price changes. Halfway through the month I expanded the scope to track an entire wishlist.

Lasting Memory

I meant the name to be a witty combination of "RSS" and "Stalker". Everyone called thought it was supposed to be "RSS Talker."

My first time working with

Ajax, RSS, Amazon's Web Services, Javascript effects, Apache Mod Rewrite

April 2006 - RSStalker.com Widget

Status

Unknown. The widget is still out there, but I have no idea if it works or if Yahoo Widgets still exist.

Idea

To some using RSS was a little too complicated, so I made a version that could run from the desktop using Yahoo! Widgets. It had a frontend for creating feeds and showed the latest updates.

Lasting Memory

Nothing special.

My first time working with

Yahoo's Widget Engine

May 2006 - Stadium Traveler

Status

Gone

Idea

A site where users could post "insider" tips for attending sporting events. Best places to park, drink...

Lasting Memory

I learned to never do a user generated content site again. This was also my first ever CakePHP project.

My first time working with

CakePHP

June 2006 - Site A Month redsign

Status

Gone

Idea

When I launched the blog I used some generic theme. I wanted to create a custom one.

Lasting Memory

I suck as design.

My first time working with

Wordpress Plugins

July 2006 - Nothing.

Status

Gone

Idea

I took the month off.

Lasting Memory

I was exhausted.

August 2006 - Shoot4It.com

Status

Never finished.

Idea

A browser-based multi-player ajax rocks, scissor, paper game.

Lasting Memory

I failed because this one was hard to code in small chunks. At the time I'd get like 15 minutes a day to work on these. I only spent half the month on this so that gave me more time for the next project.

August, September 2006 - FantasyLifeGame.com (later FantasyLife.net)

Status

Gone.

Idea

I loved (and still do to some extent) this concept. My friends used to talk about keeping a giant scoreboard on the wall (I think they even did this at one point) where you would get points for doing stuff in real life, such as getting a date, a raise or writing an A paper. The site was a way for groups to define goals and give point values, then compete with their friends.

Lasting Memory

I thought this one would make millions.

My first time working with

I think I cheated here. I don't really remember working with anything new.

October 2006 - The Netflix Prize

Status

No output.

Idea

The Netflix Prize was a contest to see if you could generate better movie rating predictions then Netflix's in house algortihm. The first person/team that did 10% better would win $1M.

Lasting Memory

Working with large datasets on a shitty computer sucks.

My first time working with

Math

November 2006 - DealCrew.com

Status

Gone.

Idea

This was an existing site of mine. It aggregated coupon codes for various online stores. I scrapped the version that was there and made a simpler OriginalSignal/PopURLS style site.

Lasting Memory

My friend wanted to make this a group deals site with a local focus. I told him that idea was retarded.

My first time working with

It's pretty much impossible to build a meaningful site and learn a new technology in a month. I'd pretty much given up on the new technology thing at this point. I figured I was learning a lot anyway even if I didn't new a new technology.

December 2006 - PseudoCoder.com

Status

Rose up and slain it's creator and before going on to world domination (ok, that second part is still to come).

Idea

A blog that profiled bootrapped startups. Like TechCruch before it started slurping the Facebook/Apple serum. Here's the mission statement and the form to submit a site.

Lasting Memory

I met some cool people and was inspired by their projects. Amazingly most the sites I profiled are still online: 88 Miles (original post), 16bugs (original post), AdGridwork (original post)

My first time working with

Interviews.

January, February, March 2007 - CamXip.com

Status

Gone.

Idea

YouTube for IP Cameras. I really liked this one a lot, which is why it ended up dragging on for three months. I even had some partners and paid for professional design.

Lasting Memory

Using Google to finding some crazy IP cameras that were just left open.

My first time working with

Flash

Deprecated

On June 10th, 2007 Site A Month was officially done. I kept the site up for awhile, but eventually I moved the content over and shut down the domain.