Today I will be retiring @Dad Reply from active development.
With the latest feature of @Gmail being a "reaction button" it, to me, now seems redundant. This was never a long term goal of mine, I spun the idea up because I thought it would be funny, not realising the impact it would have.
A friend once told me, and I am paraphrasing here. "If you build on top of a platform you're beholden to that platform.", so I always knew that this could happen.
It was only because I couldn't post it to @Reddit that I jokingly launched it on Product Hunt, which, in turn, lead it to being 4th for the day, granted me a meeting with @jakecrump and his PA @catt_marroll to discuss my experience, got a shoutout from @rrhoover and was chosen to lead the daily Product Hunt email list.
In the coming days I will push a final update to remove any restrictions. Including the pro-version (which I never charged for).
This whole experience has been so valuable to me. And as much as I don't want to sound like a bot, it's true.
It gave me the confidence to build my ideas and ship them (something I have been helping other people do for 15+ years).
I did this for me, and just because of how ridiculous it is. Since then I have been continuing to push things out under workingon.studio, a new playground for me to explore my ideas. Creating products that shine a mirror on the ridiculousness of the world, and how we see it.
I've also been focusing on building tools for those that are switching back to @Sketch , including a powerful icon plugin. Which they have recognised, and have supported me in doing so.
Most of these things, like with @Dad Reply have been for me. They are my itches to scratch. And trust me, after 15+ years of doing nothing about it I'm itching all over.
My next little thing is launching on Monday. So keep an eye out for that. And there are many more in the cannon.

Hey, Dad's back!

I said I was popping out for some cigarettes and a paper some time ago, but it was no abandon. The queue at the shop was massive. And of course being British, I wasn't going to leave it. So with a copy of last month's paper under my arm, and a freshly lit hot stick perched between my lips. I am here.