progress with ScrollWise, new projects | makerlog week of 14 October 2025

ScrollWise is coming along nicely! but I've also started several other projects that I'm excited about, so I figured it was about time to put out another makerlog.

ScrollWise

ScrollWise got a new look that I really like. instead of a modal pop-up, it's a sidebar that you can use to enrich your prompt with content.

I definitely need to de-vibe code the design because it looks pretty bad, but the functionality of adding tweets and posts to the context of the chat works on ChatGPT.

next up is authentication, payment, and then adding Reddit and StackOverflow support. Then I need to figure out how to handle updates to the extension. Then I need to try to make it a bit faster because currently it's quite slow.

point is, lots to be done. I'm not in a huge rush though, because I have a ton of other projects I'm working on.

game development and media

I'm writing a book, working on a video game/simulation experiment and am working on two new YouTube channels.

I know, that's probably entirely too much to take on at once alongside ScrollWise. I have my reasoning.

the book is going to be a year+ long venture. I'm not going to go super in depth on it quite yet because I haven't fleshed all of it out, but it is a non-fiction book about online media, the online information ecosystem and how we can use it to create a better world.

the game is also a long-term venture. it's more of a simulation than anything, but there are gamified elements to it. there is actually a pretty big crossover and relationship between the book and the game, but the game is extremely early stage.

like... very early stage.

I'm tentatively calling the game anarkOS. I have very big plans for it.

as for the YouTube channels, one will be personal, which I'll discuss below a bit, and the other will be a larger media project.

this is... a lot for a solo developer/chronically online dork to work on. at this stage in my life I like to start a ton of projects and take my time on them. learning and launching is much more of an objective than launching something huge and making a ton of money off of it. I also have way more fun with building this way. Some day I'll build something that really resonates and becomes Bigger than Just a Project, and then I'll jump on that thing and really hone in on it. a lot of these longer-term projects really have the potential to get there, and as they grow, I'll start focusing more and more of my time on the projects that I think have the most potential to really go somewhere.

until then, I build for fun, and I build to learn.

algorithmic entrapment

ages ago, I started a YouTube channel.

I've used it for gaming and for politics but for the majority of the channels 385 videos, I focused on malware development and cyber security research.

this was a fun area of focus, but over time I've become disinterested in it. I don't love the content style that I've put up on the channel, and I feel as though I've kinda outgrown it. This has lead to less and less uploads as I really can't motivate myself to work on or make that kind of content.

I tried pivoting the style of content I put up, but YouTube has this way of approaching content (one that makes sense, honestly) where it absolutely nukes your algorithmic reach if your own subscribers don't watch what you put up. so, I pivoted to MakerLogs, I've pivoted to web development stuff, I've pivoted to political stuff, and all of those videos have tanked. entirely. the only content on the channel that does well is malware development and cyber security stuff... because that's what the subscribers are there for.

so, I've decided to start completely fresh. it stings a lot tossing away the 9,000 subscribers I've picked up, and it's sucked even more tossing away my monetization status. but at the end of the day, I'm not uploading anyways, so I might as well start over fresh with a new channel that I'll actually want to upload on.

I'll announce the channel at some point soon. I want to have the branding and at least one video up first. but my plan is for it to be much higher effort and production than what I'm used to creating.

because, again, the whole point is to learn.