下一个副业项目，做一个浏览器扩展吧

https://www.geoffreylitt.com/2023/01/08/for-your-next-side-project-make-a-browser-extension.html

翻译：加肥猫

Reflections on the benefits of tweaking an existing app, instead of starting from scratch.

In a previous post I’ve written about why browser extensions are an amazing platform for customizing existing software. Because the browser DOM can be hacked in open-ended ways, it’s possible to build extensions that modify the behavior of an app in ways that the original creators never anticipated or intended to support.

你的下一个副业，做一个浏览器扩展

最好调整已有的应用程序，不需要重新做一个。

在以前的帖子中我写过，为什么浏览器扩展是定制现有软件的绝佳平台。因为浏览器DOM是开放的，可以在前端修改，所以可以构建扩展，以原始创建者未想到的方式，或者不打算支持的方式修改应用程序的行为。

Today I’ll make that point more concrete by sharing the story of a side project I made. Over the past couple years, I built a browser extension called Twemex that helps people find interesting ideas on Twitter. Twemex started as a tiny utility to improve my own Twitter experience, but it grew to have tens of thousands of users, and ultimately I sold the extension to Tweet Hunter in a recent acquisition.

今天来分享我做的一个业余项目，做更具体的说明。在过去的几年里，我创建了一个名为 Twemex 的浏览器扩展，可以帮助用户在 Twitter 上找到有趣的想法。Twemex 一开始只是一个小工具，用来改善我自己的 Twitter 体验，但后来它拥有了数万用户，最终我将这个扩展卖给了 Tweet Hunter。

In this post, I’ll reflect on that experience and share some of the unique advantages (and tradeoffs) of building an extension instead of building an entire new app. I’ll also share a few of the tactics I used to create a successful extension.

在这篇文章中，我将回顾这段经历，分享构建扩展而不是重建整个应用程序的一些独特优势（和权衡）。我还会分享一些成功的策略。

Most importantly, I’ll argue that making an extension is a fun and efficient way to create useful software, especially when you can only invest limited time and effort. Instead of starting from a blank slate, you can start by tailoring some piece of existing software to better serve your own needs, and then share your work with other people facing similar problems. No need to brainstorm weird startup ideas or hunt for markets—just find limitations in the software you already use, and patch them yourself.

最重要的是，我认为做出来有用的小工具，使用浏览器扩展的方式有趣并且高效，特别是当你能投入的时间和精力有限时。 不要从一张白纸开始，你可以为现有软件做一些定制，更好地满足自己的需求，然后与面临类似问题的人分享你的作品。 无需集思广益怪异的创业点子或寻找市场——不需要动脑筋想出奇怪的创业点子，也不需要寻找市场--只需要发现你在用的软件中的局限，然后自己修补。

Beyond these benefits for the developer, extensions can be awesome for end-users too. Instead of needing to switch to a different app, users can smoothly integrate new functionality into their existing experience. Extensions can also support niche use cases that would never be prioritized by the original developer.

除了这些对开发者的好处，扩展对终端用户来说也是很好的。用户不需要切换到不同的应用程序，而是可以顺利地将新功能整合到他们现有的体验中。扩展也可以支持小众的用例，这些用例永远不会被原始开发者优先考虑。

除了对开发人员的这些好处之外，扩展对用户来说也是非常棒的。用户无需切换到不同的应用程序，就可以将新功能顺利集成到现有体验中。扩展还可以支持原始开发团队永远不会优先考虑的小众需求。