I made an App. Teach your kids to read! Tell your Cousins!
A personal update here wrt the /now section of this little blog. Some earnest and shameless self-promotion, just like Tim Berners-Lee intended.
About 18 months ago, in a fit of passion, I left my job to pursue something I care a lot about: software that streamlines parent-led early literacy instruction, while minimizing active screen time. The app is LettersPractice.com. It has a pretty generous non-expiring free tier, and then a $20 one-time purchase.
Very roughly speaking, the phonetic rules of English are simple in isolation but complex in concert. This concert-complexity is difficult to manage, as is pacing of the introduction on new facts. Introduce things too quickly, and a learner confuses things, becomes overwhelmed, and crashes out in frustration. A horrible experience for budding readers!
The basic operation of my software is to
- involve the parent in the introduction of new ideas
- manage the release of new information according to observed mastery
- make the known / unknown skills very obvious for a guiding parent, so that it's easy for the parent to not overwhelm or confuse their kid with too much at once
(and to do this with a little charm and grace along the way)
This is my first foray into entrepreneurship, and let me tell you: it's rough out there!
What I have found is that there is a blanket prohibition on discussing anything commercial on the internet. I understand this - every community would be flooded with commercial spam otherwise. But seeing post after post in places like r/parenting, where the OP obviously wants the thing I've made, and the responses point to somewhat good, somewhat edutainment slop subscription VC products is a bummer.
I currently seem to have a single active user outside of my own household.
Paid advertising isn't really my jam - I run an adblocker and think more or less everyone ought to. The attention economy is corrosive in many respects. But boy has my sympathy for product advertisers increased!
So:
I am officially taking advice. I am at your mercy!
If you are in this demographic (a parent with talkative but pre-literate kids), please consider having a look at the app itself. If you are closely tied to persons in the demographic, please also have a look and consider sharing it with them. This is as indie and small-web as it comes.
What works here? What's confusing about it?
If you are a product or marketing person who sees obvious things that I am clearly missing, please also let me know.
( hi@letterspractice.com )
Thank you and god help me!