I used to feel like my ideas were constrained by technology. That's partially why I loved writing — I could immediately translate what was in my head into words, refine it, and share it with the world. I couldn't do that with code.

I'll admit that I was a bad builder, too quick to get frustrated when I didn't see progress and too easy to give up when I couldn't figure things out.

But not anymore. The friction from idea to implementation is impossibly low.

I've built mini webapps in a weekend, when it would've taken me a month last year. Late in 2024, I saw people leverage their design background to create some of the coolest projects I've seen using AI-assisted tools. PMs who lived in Jira and Figma now send teams prototypes built with v0, Bolt, or Cursor instead of a PRFAQ.

"Build two side projects" was on my New Year's Resolutions last year. Even though I made a few small things, I don't think they fully count. They were projects for clubs or software gifts (like an anniversary card). There's no excuse for 2025. This is the year of rapid prototyping. Let's all ship some more.

---

Find more of my thoughts on Twitter (@ethanweii).