I made a Climate Change News App

Hey,

I've been working on a little news app for the past few weekends. It's a news app that only focuses on "climate change". It shows climate change related articles from different sources.

Link: http://polrr.news
Tech Stack: React(TS), NodeJS, MongoDB, AWS

Why I made this?

This is not my first project using MERN, I have built some decent apps for other people(at work or helped some friends) but I never added a good project to my portfolio. I do have some apps, but they are either on Heroku or Netlify and those apps are more like experiment stuff. I've abandoned a lot of projects too.

This time I wanted to make something from start to finish. Something that can go on my portfolio/resume. Something people can actually use and benefit from it.

Why this specific news app?

I could've easily made a Netflix or YouTube clone and added it to my resume. People do it and they get jobs based on that. If you're a beginner that's fine. But for a guy like me, who's not a beginner that might not look nice + it's not even fun as I already know the flow and everything. Also, nobody's going to use it. After one gets a job, that project will go into the pool of unfinished projects.

As developers, we have the privilege to build stuff that can actually make someones' life easier. Almost anybody can come up with an idea, but the ability to execute only lies among a few.

These are the few reasons I chose to develop this specific app:

1. Chance of people using this app > Chances of anybody using a clone. I can get actual user feedback and add new features based on that.

2. I wanted to try Typescript. I wanted it to be something small so I can focus more on Typescript and less on thinking about the app features and their complexity.

3. I wanted this to be a refresher for my MERN skills.

4. It's not something recruiters see every day.

5. MOST IMPORTANT! As I mentioned I have this habit of abandoning projects. I didn't wanna pick something huge as I might get bored and leave the project unfinished.

This is the first time, I brought a domain for a project. 🙌

It's not HTTPS, because I can't afford it. LOL. 😁

I have a few more ideas to work on. I'll be experimenting with new technologies and try to build something people can actually use.

All of this information wasn't necessary, but I hope this helps out someone who's deciding to start on a new project.

Also, I'll be writing an article on hosting on AWS(+ nginx). If you are interested, let's stay connected.

Thank you. ✌️

You can connect with me on Twitter or LinkedIn.