Denis Markov, devrel VK Mini Apps:
“Gadgets are great opportunities for those interested in web development. Using the usual web technologies and the unique capabilities of VKontakte, you can quickly create a product that will attract the attention of thousands or even millions of users. "
Greetings from the VK Mini Apps team ! We will tell you how we helped independent developers usefully pass the time for self-isolation and what came of it.
Why did everyone need VK Fresh Code
From month to month, the audience of gadgets on VK grew steadily and steadily. But in March, self-isolation broke out across the country, and people began to spend more time online in home mode. Users flooded into the gadget directory like a tsunami.
Services of well-known brands have increased their already vast audience. Even more people began to select real estate in the Etazha mini-app, buy goods from AliExpress, read the latest issues of Cosmopolitan - without leaving their usual social network and without downloading anything. Large businesses have enough resources to attract users and retain them with the benefits of their services.
But we knew for sure: now that the platform's audience has grown dramatically, gadgets from small studios and independent developers can also take off. And they figured out how to help them.
What have we done
We organized a VK Fresh Code grant competition. It is based on the free imagination and enthusiasm of developers who have real, understandable motivation: cool experience, perspective for their projects, and a cash prize.
We have added an educational block to help participants understand the documentation and basic rules for working with APIs, design and prototyping. The training was structured in such a way as to bring up to date any june who has already learned how to do something by hand, but has not yet encountered our platform and the development of his own projects.
We also discussed the intricacies of moderation: on the platform it is quite tough - and mandatory for all services. To get into the catalog, mini-apps go through meticulous moderators, and then enter the Testpool systemwhere thousands of testers create tons of reports on the first day. But all this is good for the services: they come out of moderation strong, without bugs and artifacts. Developers get full product testing for free - and the confidence that users will come to a clean application.
During the first stage of the competition, from April 28 to June 8, 62 full-fledged mini-app went through all this. But only 30 of them corresponded to the declared theme of the wave - it was devoted to education.
Let's acquaint you with ten winners - the developers of these services equally divided 3 million rubles.
The result of the first stage of VK Fresh Code | Topic: education
I will solve the exam
It is easier to prepare for the exam if the materials have already been selected for this, there is where to practice and who to ask for advice. Such a set of opportunities will come in handy for graduates anywhere in the country: 14 subjects, test questions, an exam regime and the preservation of personal achievements. And thanks to the mini-app, now all this fits into a smartphone.
Vadim Tregubenko, full-stack developer and project author:
“In the 11th grade, the“ Solve the Unified State Exam ”portal was my best friend, so I suggested that his management develop a mini-application for them. It seems to me that thanks to my project, preparation for exams can become even more convenient and structured. "
Brain defense
An intelligent tower defense simulator. To defend yourself against monsters, you need to solve math examples, understand spelling and quickly translate words from English. More questions on geography and chemistry will be added soon.
Denis Peshekhonov, back-end developer:
“When implementing it, I set the task to complete the project, the developments on which appeared much earlier. I had already won contests, and then there was a motivation to bring at least something to the catalog and its logical conclusion. VKontakte is the most popular Russian mobile application. If anyone is to test the superapp hypothesis, then it is them. It's interesting to hop on this train as early as possible. In general, I noticed a cool trend: at hackathons, VK Mini Apps are increasingly used to implement projects, because it's faster that way. "
Brainpoly
Here the user becomes the Brainstorm. His task is to score as many points as possible: they are awarded not only for correct answers in tests from other participants, but also for mistakes of opponents in quizzes that he himself will compose.
Alexander Belov, game designer:
“The idea of Brainpoly appeared spontaneously when my fellow programmers and I spent an evening playing a board game. We saw the news about the beginning of the first stage of the VK Fresh Code and thought: "Why not transfer to online what we play here and now, but focus on education?"
GeoPuzzle
This is a game on an interactive map of the Earth, helps to study political geography. You can tighten up knowledge about countries and regions: remember their location, flags, capitals and much more.
Victor Tyschenko, back-end developer and project author:
“Probably, of all the winning developers, it was easiest for me. I have been developing and improving a similar service for three years, but on a different site. In fact, I only needed to understand how to transfer my developments to the VK Mini Apps platform. In the end, everything worked out. This experience gave me a new audience, and right now in my application, they are falling in love with geography. "
Eco Simple
The gadget provides an easy way to talk about separate waste collection and explain how to handle different groups of household and industrial waste. It also helps you evaluate your personal contribution to the preservation of the environment.
Alexander Alibutaev, front-end developer and author of the project:
“The idea came almost by accident, although our entire team has long adhered to life principles that help preserve nature. We decided to try to touch the feelings of people, and at the same time came up with a difficult mission for ourselves - to explain to users that we have only one planet so far. In the end, it turned out very well: the audience that came turned out to be really understanding, and we received many messages with gratitude. Pleasant bonuses - a victory in the competition and a stream of people willing to help the project free of charge. "
SMM Posts
Inside this service, there are many interesting things for SMM specialists: a theme generator for content, formulas for selling texts, a banner gallery, a posting tracker, and even a whole academy with copywriting lessons.
Anastasia Yugova, certified marketer, author of the application and community about SMM:
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QURAGA
An intellectual game with many questions on different topics. You can challenge your friends and compete for the best position in the ranking.
Evgeny Zavalishin, back-end developer of the project:
“In fact, this is a simplified reincarnation of the Clover application, only without an online presenter and with a more behind-the-scenes game mode. It seems to me that our service will help people in a playful way to learn new facts from different fields: chemistry, physics, mathematics, geography, biology. Let this not be the most voluminous knowledge, but the more entertaining little things you know, the more interesting you are. "
Child
The application helps to master the school curriculum by presenting material in an entertaining format. Statistics, a voice assistant, fine-tuning the difficulty of games and much more so that children can usefully spend time even with a smartphone in their hands.
Andrey Komarov, developer and author of the project:
“I participated in both contests for mini applications from the VK Mini Apps platform. In both, he took second places and took the award for the best technical solution. Then came the "Home Developer" and another second place in terms of points in his wave. So I already have four prizes! If everyone had the same perseverance and self-confidence as I do, I think the world would be better. "
Slovoglot - reader
Application for reading books and texts in a foreign language. The service offers interactive tools that help you memorize new phrases and expand your vocabulary.
Konstantin Baryshev, full-stack developer and project author:
“I am still skeptical about monetization on the platform, although lately everything is getting much better. I continue to improve my application "Polyglot" - it has been in the catalog for a long time. When I found out about the grant, I decided to create a sequel, but with foreign words. The prospect of getting 300 thousand rubles warmed my soul - and everything worked out! Early developments and experience helped a lot, so the competition for me was clear and verified. I only worried about getting into the topic of the stage. Thanks for the pitching - it motivated us not to abandon our plans. "
Literate
Endless grammar quiz. The service helps to pass the time, expanding your vocabulary, and pleases with a pleasant design.
Alexander Sharipov, full-stack developer and project author:
“Everything is quite prosaic for me: the idea had been in my head for a long time, and doing it just for the sake of interest was somehow irrelevant. We can say that the stars converged. We were limited only to a general theme - my idea fell into it perfectly - and they promised a nice bonus for winning. I think that it was not in vain that I waited and nurtured the project. He bided his time. "
By the end of the year, we will have four more stages of the VK Fresh Code competition, including the second wave, which is already underway. In each of them, the authors of the 10 best applications will receive grant support - 300 thousand rubles. Half of the amount will go to the account in the VK advertising account - so that the new service will receive powerful promotion.
Participants need to go through moderation and beta testing to get into the VK Mini Apps platform gadgets catalog. Each stage has its own terms and topics - you can follow them in the official group of the platform: vk.com/vkappsdev
Remember: the big and important do not always win - often luck smiles at the quick and daring. We are waiting for you at VK Fresh Code - we will help you go from searching for an idea to release!