from a vibe coding addict.
I ran an experiment to make software feel as lightweight and disposable as a tweet.
I can create like a maniac in claude code and cursor. but the format that each of them generates against is heavy.
The options are: build it as an app or website — a large place people visit, which means auth, DB, nav, UI, branding, DAU, retention, monetization, listings, etc. Suddenly my 5-minute idea needs a business plan to exist.
That's insane. when I have a thought, I tweet it. I don't need to set up a blog, set up hosting, worry about SEO, and plan a content calendar. I just post it. when I have a funny video, I post a tiktok. I don't start a youtube channel, design thumbnails, and optimize my channel.
But when I have an idea for something that should exist as software, the lightest option is still an app or website. We have some of the easiest creation tools in history right now at our fingertips, and every time they generate something it flips me from a person with an idea to a developer maintaining an app.
So I asked a different question: what's the smallest unit of an app that still feels like software?
And the answer is a session.
Any form of content has two things on social platforms now — (1) you can actually consume it, which means it ends, and (2) it has a feedback loop built in — likes, replies, etc.
Sessions in apps provide both. but they're wrapped in the most utterly annoying package. Yes, we can all vibe code our way to riches with apps, but I have the feeling a lot of people have way too many ideas floating in their head (just like thoughts that get tweeted) to post 60 apps to the app store in a few days.
But that's what I did with drips.me. I set up the site march 9th and posted 60 tiny little software drops in 3 days. They didn't even have to be good or complete — they just had to exist. just like early tweets ("eating a sandwich" from SMS) had to exist.
Software... yes, even mini apps, which are just tiny houses that no one feels like visiting, are heavy.
Here is the drip of this article: drips.me/ian/building-drips-me
Other good examples:
- drips.me/ian/draw-me
- drips.me/ian/survive-in-italy (duolingo as a drip)
- drips.me/ian/snap-me (snapchat as a drip)
- drips.me/ian/gas-me-up (gas as a drip)