By Josh Willuhn. January 27, 2021

January 2021. It's almost time to launch this thing! It was a full three months between actually uploading MOTOrift app updates, so this one is a big one.

What's new? Some font changes and UI fixes. Live tracking mode is functional you can share a map of your location with your friends and family.

The "sync your ride" function works better, it offers to launch the ride review after sync instead of just leaving you looking for the next step.

The "add an old ride to your live map as tracks to follow" option works so you can follow your old tracks. There's new favorite places and destination list options. I added 3D buildings on mobile and 3d terrain on the web version of MOTOrift motocloud. Mapbox is no longer open source so I spent some time wondering what's next for it. I added more data options and a math based g-force reading.

I've been busy! This update ties up some loose ends and gets things to the next stage of development.

It's probably the last big update before launching the full version. That means it's time to write some tutorials for it. Developing an app while marketing it AND writing tutorials is a challenge because it keeps changing.

I read some of my old updates from 2020 and it made me realize I wasn't reading the previous months update before writing a new one, so I repeat myself quite a bit. Embarrassing I know lol. This isn't some highly polished startup, I don't have an MBA (try not to look so shocked).

I'm going from having a project to having a product in the next few weeks so it's really a time to ramp up production on the finishing touches on this version and ship it.

This bird is getting pushed out of the nest to see if it flies or falls.

Big days for myself and MOTOrift. I'm not completely alone, I have a few friends and family helping test the app and develop the concept. It's a small scrappy team and I owe them a lot for putting up with me and helping make this thing a reality.

There are bikers across the country who have helped me fine tune what this thing should be and I'm extremely grateful to every early customer and all the people with opinions helping me along the way.

It's been a battle, a journey and an epic adventure just getting to this point and it's truly only the beginning.

What's next? Polishing the app and creating help content.

I think the best computer products are specialized enough they require some learning to get the most from. I didn't want an over simplified app that doesn't do anything cool. My earliest customers didn't either. That means creating content to answer the inevitable questions that need answering to get the most from MOTOrift.

One of the key lessons from 2010-2020 is every company is in the business of information. Every company is a media company, a tech company especially.

MOTOrift isn't just an app, it's the support that comes along with it. But that's only part of the picture, the product itself is the information you as a customer take away from it about your riding style or which gears to choose. That's the value MOTOrift actually creates.

Creating content to get the most from the information the app offers is all part of the product that is MOTOrift. It's a chicken and egg situation. Without a product there's nothing to create content for and without content the product isn't complete.

My big project now is creating content to launch with.

Well, that's all I have for January, thanks for reading this and like always - all feedback is genuinely appreciated.