I Made Holli Tube Public: A Secret Weapon for English Learning
Hey there! I’m Halfong, an indie hacker turned developer. I’ve always been passionate about languages and tech, and I recently took a leap of faith and released Holli Tube, my secret weapon for improving my English skills, to the public. Here’s the story of how it all came together.
The Idea
Learning English has always been a bit of a challenge for me. Between work and life, finding time to practice is tough. But I realized that I was already spending a ton of time on YouTube, watching all sorts of videos. So, why not make the most of it? That’s when the idea for Holli Tube hit me. I wanted to create something that would turn my favorite videos into a language learning tool.
Designing the UX
As a former UI/UX designer, I knew that the user experience had to be spot-on. I focused on three key features:
- Elegant Captions: I wanted the captions to look great and be super readable.
- Translator: Clicking on a word to translate it and saving it to a vocab list sounded like a game-changer.
- Quick Controls: Being able to navigate through the video using captions and adjusting the playback speed would make learning more efficient.
Coding and Debugging
Coding this thing was a wild ride. I spent countless hours teaching myself how to code, and let me tell you, debugging is not for the faint of heart. But every time I solved a bug, it felt like hitting the jackpot. Plus, getting feedback from early testers was invaluable.
Launch Day
Finally, the big day arrived. I hit the publish button and made Holli Tube available to the public. The feeling was surreal. Seeing people actually use it and give positive feedback was the best reward.
Reflections and Future Plans
Reflecting on the journey, I’m blown away by what I’ve learned. Building Holli Tube taught me that with enough determination, you can tackle anything. I’m planning to keep improving the extension and maybe add support for more languages. Who knows, maybe I’ll even turn it into a full-time gig someday.
Final Thoughts
If you’re someone who’s trying to improve your English or learn a new language, I hope Holli Tube can be as helpful for you as it has been for me. And if you’re an indie hacker or aspiring developer, remember that the best ideas often come from solving your own problems. So go ahead and build that thing you’ve been dreaming about. You never know where it might take you!