Lovely Notes Alexa Skill: Daily note-writing prompts to make your friends smile.

Dope Chris 🚬🚬 I’m just getting into developing Alexa Apps because... well it seems really fun to work on. 😀 Walk me through your process of building Lovely N What was your inspiration to build it? How long did it take to build? What is the stack that you used? What were your challenges? If you could do it again what would you do differently?

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7yr ago

Chris Vasquez

The Closet by Aww, Rats!

Maker

@dredurr Thanks so much for the comment and the awesome questions. *What was your inspiration to build it?* I was initially inspired to build it because I leave these notes for my partner and daughter every morning, and I sometimes have trouble coming up with ideas. It also has been a really positive experience for my whole family and I wanted to share that with more folks. *How long did it take to build?* It took me a weekend to build and ship the whole thing (the skill, the landing page, the video, and posting to PH). *What is the stack that you used?* I'm a little embarrassed about this (I'm not a developer by trade), but I built it in node, and it's hosted using Lambda using the Amazon Space Skills project as a basis and customizing it to do what I needed (handling categories, being able to repeat, some updates to the launch function, etc). *What were your challenges?* My biggest challenge was the fact that I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. That might sound hyperbolic, but trust me... no idea. Having to understand how skills were structured was actually pretty straightforward, but it was an entirely new way of thinking about things (invocations, utterances, intents, and whatnot). The Skill certification process was also a little tricky, I got kicked back a couple times because I filled out the example invocations incorrectly. I do want to give a +1 to Amazon for some of the cool tools they're building for building the interaction structure and testing your skills. *If you could do it again what would you do differently?* I'm actually pretty happy with the process of building the skill. I approached it as a real MVP and gave myself some strict deadlines, and I'm generally proud of what I shipped. In terms of actual functionality, I wish I had added the ability for people to suggest new prompts and compliments directly in the app. Maybe I'll do that... I wanted to end by giving a shout out to a product I saw on PH called Storyline (https://www.producthunt.com/post...) that is a visual skill builder that is insanely impressive. Although I'm glad I learned how to actually code the skill, if I were to do it over again, I might use Storyline. Hopefully those aren't dumb answers, feel free to call me out if you think they are.

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7yr ago

Dre Durr💡

@clickpop incredible job. I’m very happy you shared your story. Very humble! Don’t sell yourself short. You built something incredible. You have an official PH Maker badge that can never be taken away. That’s dope 🚬🚬

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7yr ago

Tom Tate

I think this product does something special. It bridges a widening gap between the convenience of digital voice AI (i.e. Alexa, Google Assistant, etc.) and the sincerity, affection, and charm of real human interaction via physical artifacts (i.e. post-it notes, cards, letters, Polaroids, etc.) As we move towards a digital future, I think bold apps like this that remind us to create things physically will really shine. ^^ all of that was a verbose way of saying that while I love robots, I think the humans in my life are pretty cool, too. :) Disclaimer: I work with Chris. He is a very stable genius.

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7yr ago

Chris Vasquez

The Closet by Aww, Rats!

Maker

@tnrt thanks so much for the comment, it was seriously one of the nicest things I've ever read. If you have ideas for prompts or compliments, I'd love to add them!

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7yr ago

Chris Vasquez

The Closet by Aww, Rats!

Maker

Lovely Notes offers ideas and prompts to make it easier for you to leave notes for the people that matter in your life. I started leaving post-it notes for my girlfriend and daughter a couple years ago, and the benefits have been amazing. Not only does it bring a smile to their face, and a little bit of discovery to their morning, it also gave me an entirely new perspective and appreciation for them by forcing me to think of how wonderful they are first thing in the morning. One of the hardest things after several years of doing this is to think of something new every morning. That's why I made Lovely Notes. First to help me, but also to help you! If you have ideas for prompts, quotes, and compliments, let me know and I'll add them! I just added a compliment today from the president himself, "you are a very stable genius."

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7yr ago

Lovely Notes Alexa Skill

Daily note-writing prompts to make your friends smile.

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