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The micro-SaaS challenge: Day 100 (Building Apocode #11)

The micro-SaaS challenge: Day 100 (Building Apocode #11)
Photo by david Griffiths / Unsplash

I wrote previously about my intention of creating and launching 10 micro-SaaS products in 100 days, while building Apocode (a UK-based startup helping entrepreneurs create SaaS products without writing code).

Twenty days ago, I completed the eighth micro-SaaS. This article brings you the final two.

Micro-SaaS #9: Follow Explorer

I signed up for Twitter over a decade ago, but started using my account only recently. And, like most new Twitter users, I wondered how I could find interesting people to follow.

Many online articles provide decent ideas on how to go about this: follow people in your industry, follow people recommended by your friends, use hashtags, etc. However, these tips aren't exhaustive and always left me wondering if I was missing anybody important.

I used the 9th micro-SaaS to explore the Twitter API and see how I could fill that knowledge gap. The result, Follow Explorer, allows Twitter users to quickly view who is followed by their followees but not (yet) by them.

For example, imagine you follow three users, and they follow two other users.

Following users A and B might be of interest to you as you are already following their followers.

Follow Explorer's algorithm automatically detects the existence and the strength of your indirect connection to users A and B and will suggest them as users that you should follow.

Twitter also provides a list of suggested accounts to follow, but it missed some of the most appealing profiles that I managed to find through Follow Explorer.

You can try Follow Explorer for free here.

Micro-SaaS #10: Spotify Song Finder

I have been using Spotify for many years and have over 1,000 liked songs in my library. However, I am still regularly discovering existing songs that I like by these artists.

So, for the last micro-SaaS, I explored the Spotify API to see if it would be possible to create and productise a recommendation algorithm. The result, Spotify Song Explorer, is available here. Unfortunately, the sign-ups are currently disabled as the Spotify integration still needs approval from Spotify.

While the Spotify API was very easy to integrate, and the algorithm provided a few interesting suggestions, I found they were not substantially better than the recommendations in the Spotify app.

Conclusion

This concludes the 100 day micro-SaaS challenge. Thank you to all those that followed the journey, signed up, and provided invaluable feedback. After the new year, I will write more about what I have learned during the process and how this will push Apocode forward.