Building PresentlyConnect: A New Way to Stay Connected Without Social Media Pressure
What if staying connected with friends didn't require constant posting, endless scrolling, or the anxiety of maintaining an online presence?
That question led me to build PresentlyConnect - a social app that replaces the pressure of daily updates with simple "life seasons." Instead of posting photos or status updates every day, you share your current season: Are you thriving? Grinding through a busy project? Traveling? Struggling and need space?
This is the story of how I built a fully functional prototype in under 2 hours using AI-assisted development, and what I learned about rapid product validation.
The Problem: Social Media Fatigue is Real
I've watched close friendships fade not because people stopped caring, but because maintaining connections through social media became exhausting.
The current state of digital friendship:
Guilt over not posting regularly
Anxiety about engaging "enough" with friends' content
Superficial interactions replacing meaningful check-ins
Constant comparison and FOMO
Forgotten birthdays and life milestones
Long-distance friendships going dormant
A 2023 Pew Research study found that 73% of adults aged 25-40 feel guilty about not keeping in touch with friends, yet 68% say traditional social media makes them feel more stressed, not more connected.
The core insight: People don't need another platform to perform on. They need permission to be honest about where they are in life.
The Solution: Life Seasons Framework
PresentlyConnect introduces a fundamentally different approach to social connection: life seasons.
Instead of asking: "What are you doing right now?"
We ask: "What season of life are you in?"
The 8 Life Seasons
🌟 Thriving - Life is great, open to plans, feeling good
😊 Available - In a good rhythm, open to catch up
🏃 Busy - Limited time, understanding appreciated
💪 Grinding - Focused on a goal, minimal socializing
😔 Struggling - Need support, low energy
🎉 Celebrating - Major life event, extra social
✈️ Traveling - Away, limited availability
🏡 Nesting - Cozy mode, prefer low-key hangouts
This framework does three things traditional social media can't:
Removes performance pressure - Update when your life actually changes, not daily
Sets realistic expectations - Friends know when you're unavailable without explanation
Enables authentic support - Seeing a friend is "struggling" prompts real check-ins, not performative likes
Product Design Philosophy
Building PresentlyConnect required rethinking social apps from first principles.
What We Removed
No likes or reactions - No performance metrics
No comments - No pressure to engage publicly
No endless feed - Simple chronological list
No algorithms - User-controlled experience
No ads - Not the goal (yet)
What We Kept
Privacy - Friend-only visibility
Simplicity - Three screens maximum
Authenticity - Real status updates, not curated highlights
Intentionality - Check in when it matters, not compulsively
Design Principles
Calm technology - No red notification badges, no FOMO design
Human-centered - Technology that enhances life, doesn't overwhelm it
Mobile-first - Quick check-ins on the go
Accessible - Clear, readable, intuitive
The Build: AI-Assisted Rapid Prototyping
I built PresentlyConnect using Bolt.new, an AI-powered development tool that turns natural language descriptions into working React applications.
Development Timeline
Hour 1: Concept to Code
Wrote comprehensive PRD with context-engineered prompts
Defined 8 life seasons with colors and descriptions
Created demo data (10 sample friends)
Specified exact design system (colors, typography, spacing)
Hour 2: Build and Iterate
Bolt.new generated React + TypeScript + TailwindCSS foundation
Iterated on UI polish (blue gradient, avatar circles, card styling)
Added localStorage for status persistence
Built status edit modal with all 8 options
Added welcome screen explaining the concept
The result: A fully functional prototype with:
Beautiful, modern UI
Working status editing
10 pre-populated demo friends
Mobile-responsive design
Persistent user status
Production-ready polish
Key to Success: Context Engineering
Following Anthropic's guide on effective prompting for AI agents, I structured my Bolt.new prompt with:
Clear constraints - "This is a demo, no backend, localStorage only"
Explicit requirements - Exact color codes, component structure
Code examples - Pre-written TypeScript interfaces and utilities
Step-by-step instructions - Build order for components
Quality checklist - Acceptance criteria for completion
This context engineering reduced iteration loops and got me 90% of the way there on the first generation.
Technical Implementation
Tech Stack:
React 18 with TypeScript
TailwindCSS for styling
Lucide React for icons
localStorage for data persistence
Netlify for deployment
Key Features:
Status card components with colored borders
Edit modal with 8 status selections
Character counter for status notes (100 max)
Relative timestamps ("2 days ago")
Avatar circles with initials
Responsive mobile design
Simple, intentional, focused.
What I Learned
1. Simplicity is the Ultimate Sophistication
My first version had friend groups, events, voice notes, wellness resources - basically rebuilding Facebook.
Stripping it down to just "life seasons" made the concept 10x clearer. If you can't explain your product in one sentence, it's too complex.
2. Prototypes Validate Concepts, Not Features
I don't need real user accounts to test if people like the "life seasons" framework. I need them to interact with the concept.
A demo with 10 fake friends achieves 90% of the validation at 10% of the development time.
3. AI Tools Accelerate Product Thinking
Bolt.new didn't just code faster - it forced me to think clearly. Writing context-engineered prompts is essentially writing a perfect spec. The clarity required to instruct AI improved my product thinking.
4. Portfolio Projects Should Tell Stories
This isn't just "I built a React app." It's "I identified a problem with social media, designed a novel solution, and validated it with a working prototype in 2 hours."
That narrative demonstrates product sense, technical execution, and rapid iteration - much more valuable than a polished but generic app.
Future Iterations (If Validated)
Phase 2 (If 7+ out of 10 people say "I'd use this"):
Supabase backend integration
Real user authentication
Friend invite system
Push notifications for status changes
Status history timeline
Phase 3 (Monetization):
Freemium model: Free up to 20 friends
Premium ($4.99/mo): Unlimited friends, calendar integration, analytics
Enterprise ($49/mo): Team status boards for remote companies
B2B Opportunity: Remote teams using PresentlyConnect to communicate capacity:
"Sarah is grinding on a launch - don't schedule meetings"
"The design team is available this week for collaboration"
"Jake is struggling - check in before asking for deliverables"
This is where the real business potential lies - replacing Slack status with life seasons for distributed teams.
Portfolio Value
What This Project Demonstrates:
Product Thinking - Identified a real problem, designed a unique solution
Rapid Prototyping - Concept to working demo in hours, not weeks
AI-Assisted Development - Leveraged modern tools effectively
User-Centered Design - Focused on solving actual pain points
Technical Execution - Clean React code, thoughtful UX, polished UI
Strategic Simplification - Resisted feature creep, shipped MVP
For someone hiring a product-minded developer or a technical product manager, this case study shows I can:
Identify market gaps
Design innovative solutions
Build functional prototypes fast
Think strategically about features vs. scope
Ship rather than over-engineer
Try It Yourself
Live Demo: View Here
The demo includes:
10 sample friends with different life seasons
Editable status for "You" (persists via localStorage)
Full mobile responsive design
Welcome screen explaining the concept
Feedback Welcome:
If you try it, I'd love to know: Would you actually use this if it was a real app? Why or why not?
The Big Question
Is this the future of social connection? Maybe. Maybe not.
But it's definitely a better question than "How do we get more engagement on our posts?"
The real innovation isn't the features. It's the framework. Life seasons acknowledge what everyone knows but social media ignores: People's capacity for connection fluctuates.
You don't owe anyone constant availability. You don't owe anyone performative happiness. You just owe your friends honesty about where you are.
That's what PresentlyConnect is about. That's what I built in 2 hours.
And that's what I hope changes how we think about staying connected in a digital world.
Key Takeaways
✅ Build to validate, not to perfect - A working prototype beats a perfect plan
✅ Simplicity scales - One clear concept is better than ten good features
✅ AI accelerates iteration - Context engineering = better product specs
✅ Portfolio projects tell stories - Show process, not just output
✅ Ship, then iterate - Real feedback beats theoretical planning
Related Reading -Links to be updated soon!
About the Author
Jeremy McKellar builds technology that makes the digital world more meaningful and accessible. PresentlyConnect is part of a portfolio of apps focused on solving real problems through thoughtful design and rapid execution.