Fixed now! Sorry about that. Tailwind CSS v4 upgrade broke some stuff. But should be fixed now.
Sorry about that! I upgraded to Tailwind CSS v4 and it broke some stuff like dark mode and hiding admin-only buttons.
Worth pointing out that this was not a security issue. These admin-only buttons have always have been visible in the source code as it allows me to better cache our HTML and then just hide/show with CSS. The actual functionality only works for admins.
If you add data-admin="true" to <body> you may find more of these 😁
Sounds like you've thought it through.
My only remaining feedback with regards to blind spots is that most (if not all?) successful social networks started very simple. Often not even representing a social network yet.
I think because it's impossible to predict what people want. So you need to start with something super simple and build upon the usage you see around that.
For example with WIP I started it as a group chat, slowly added some chatbot functionality, eventually simple profile pages, and grew it iteratively from there. But I think that 1) I wouldn't have been able to come up with the current website functionality from day 1, it NEEDED the iterative process, and 2) even if I did immediately build out the website, it wouldn't have worked because the community needs to grow into it slowly. You need enough users, people need to have built the habit of using it, etc.
Poppin already seems fully featured. I think that just makes it harder to iterate because you're building on top of a lot of assumptions.
^ This is all predicated on my understanding that you don't have an active userbase yet. If you did start with something simple, got users, and iterated based on actual user needs and behavior, then disregard everything I said :)
Setting aside the long term vision, how will you ensure that when someone installs the extension there’s other people to chat with on a given page?
There’s been quite a few attempts at adding a social layer to webpages, but I’ve never seen anyone overcome this challenge.
You either need to provide enough value in “single player mode” or find some other way to get critical mass around certain sites.
Hey Marc, thanks for the thoughtful question—completely agree it’s the key challenge.
Rather than launching across the whole web, we’re activating Poppin on high-density pages (crypto tools, launch platforms, dev docs) where early adopters already hang out. Users can vote to unlock it on new sites, driving organic rollout.
We’re also building a widget/API model so sites can embed Poppin under their own branding. This keeps users engaged on-page (vs. sending them to Telegram/Discord), with post, real-time chat, voice, and Poppin AI(Users can chat with Poppin AI about the page they’re on—ask questions, get summaries, or explore the content more deeply in real time). This also enables users to experience Poppin on widget-enabled websites without needing the extension. With verified team badges, site owners and their teams can directly interact with users and foster real-time engagement right on their own platform.
We believe now is the right time: browser extensions are gaining adoption again (thanks to AI/Web3), and Poppin offers both “single-player value” and a path to network effect.
Happy to hear any feedback if you see blind spots.
Sounds like you've thought it through.
My only remaining feedback with regards to blind spots is that most (if not all?) successful social networks started very simple. Often not even representing a social network yet.
I think because it's impossible to predict what people want. So you need to start with something super simple and build upon the usage you see around that.
For example with WIP I started it as a group chat, slowly added some chatbot functionality, eventually simple profile pages, and grew it iteratively from there. But I think that 1) I wouldn't have been able to come up with the current website functionality from day 1, it NEEDED the iterative process, and 2) even if I did immediately build out the website, it wouldn't have worked because the community needs to grow into it slowly. You need enough users, people need to have built the habit of using it, etc.
Poppin already seems fully featured. I think that just makes it harder to iterate because you're building on top of a lot of assumptions.
^ This is all predicated on my understanding that you don't have an active userbase yet. If you did start with something simple, got users, and iterated based on actual user needs and behavior, then disregard everything I said :)
I think it solves the wrong problem. This type of solution should not be needed if you work with the right people.
As a freelancer you want to develop the skills to find reliable clients. As a client, you want to hire reliable freelancers. Of course that is easier said than done. That's exactly why I think this is where the real opportunity is.
Thanks for your time Marc, yes you are right, if you work with the right people, you don't need it. Your point about reliability is a great hint.
Wow okay that's really bad
Amazing to follow your journey on this project. Congrats on reaching product/market-fit!
Are there any learnings you'd take from this that others could benefit from? Any surprises along the way?
Thanks a lot! My biggest learning is that this time I really went all in on selling before building, we started building after 10k in sales. And we are still doing most things manually, which is also our biggest bottleneck right now.