The best way to learn about new tools and technologies is to use them. I’ve been vibe-coding apps and games as fast as I can think up ideas. Happy to talk about my experience with Replit, Google AI Studio, and others.
Applications
- Kwill is a platform for local advocacy and public comment campaigns. It’s freely available to pro-housing organizations and others by request. Built on Replit, it’s a multi-tenant, multi-user platform with a rich permissioning system and integration with both OpenAI and Anthropic APIs. Try a demo at https://app.kwill.tech/c/arc/.
- Lantern is a local-first, privacy-friendly, context-rich AI-based editor for product and business leaders. I built it to be “Cursor, but not for code,” and beyond text documents, it uses images, PDFs, and even Google Docs/Sheets/Slides for context, supports Markdown and MARP (Mermaid and CSVs coming soon), and plays nice with Cursor, Claude Code, Obsidian, Github, Google Drive, etc. Built in Replit and using the Gemini API, it’s a free web-app (installable PWA, BYO API key) and doesn’t store any information in the cloud. https://lantern.jhm.lol.
- Podfolio lets you create virtual podcast feeds by collecting individual episodes from elsewhere. Built in Replit, it supports multiple users, an admin interface, and utilizes APIs from YouTube, Spotify, iTunes, and other services. Check out a sample feed: https://app.podfolio.me/u/herzigma/pm-jobs.
- Natter writes social media comments in your own voice with a high-speed workflow and BYO API key. Input is a screenshot; you can tweak the tone, length, and intent, and upload a style guide. On desktop, you can just copy/paste the screenshot, but on mobile, if you install it, the PWA shows up as a share target. Prototyped with AI Studio and finished in Replit, using the Gemini API for image interpretation and text generation. https://social.jhm.lol/
- Archie, intended to help mobile users easily evade paywalls (you can “share” a URL to the installed app, which auto-opens the site), lets you view the archived version of a web page. Started in AI Studio, but since I couldn’t get the PWA to work, I migrated to Replit. https://archie.jhm.lol/
Utilities
- UVC Control Panel was my first Windows app and lets you access the property page for USB Video Class (UVC) cameras, normally buried behind menus and dialogs. Built with Cursor. https://github.com/herzigma/windows-uvc-control-panel
- Random Choice Announcer takes a list of options, picks one at random, and says it out loud every x seconds. Configuration is embedded in the URL for easy sharing. Nerd-sniped into building it in Google AI Studio to see how quickly I could get something working (less than five minutes). Example
- Announcer was a demo of how vibe-coding can be part of the product discovery and/or design process (i.e., not for building internal or productivity tools, not for building production software). I built it live, in front of a studio audience, in about 20 minutes, with AI Studio, and it uses the Gemini APIs. Just for fun, I single-shotted it in Replit with OpenAI - you can check that out here (no fun URL). https://announcer.jhm.lol
Games
- Humdoodle was my first “fun” app, built to try out Google’s AI Studio Build feature. Not very interesting, but kids like it. https://humdoodle.jhm.lol/
- Comet-Pede 2600, an homage to the original Atari games of the early '80s, combines elements of Asteroids and Centipede. Built in AI Studio. https://cometpede2600.jhm.lol/
- Comet-Pede 5200 is an updated version with higher resolution, detailed sprites, and more complex gameplay. Probably closer to a 16-bit console. Built in Replit. https://cometpede5200.jhm.lol/
- Monster Rally is another 8-bit game built in AI Studio. Drive your monster truck, shoot monsters, and gain their powers. Built in AI Studio. https://monster-rally.jhm.lol/
Failures
- Various versions of the “chatbot to help HS students with their homework without cheating.” Early in 2025, the AI coders weren’t good at this kind of work. Then ChatGPT and Gemini baked this functionality into their offering.
- A blog crawler/browser. https://managementblog.org/ is one of my favorite resources, but over 21 years and almost 3500 posts, this WordPress site is hard to navigate. “Let’s build a web crawler!” I said. “It’ll be easy!” I said. “And then I’ll make it fast and easy to search and browse!” Friends, there is a reason renting a webcrawler is expensive.
- A platform for running a cohort-based community. This should be straightforward, but I didn’t have a clear enough model in my head for how all the pieces should work and fit together. Something I’ve noticed: the clearer it is in my head, the better the final product turns out.
- A few years ago, I became obsessed with this article: Let’s Build a Village from a Parking Lot, and I thought it’d be fun to automate the process: find a parking lot in aerial imagery, map out streets and structures, build a 3D image. Sadly, each of these tasks far exceeded AI's ability to code or generate. I tried with Replit, AI Studio, ChatGPT, and Claude. None was successful with any part of the process. This will remain a dream.
- Wouldn’t it be cool if there were a tool that helped with group or individual brainstorming? Maybe one that combined mind-mapping, crazy-8s, and voting? I thought so, too, but couldn’t figure out the magical incantations to get
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😅 I provide coaching and support to founders, solo PMs, and startup heads of product. You can grab time with me!