Build.ms: Making Technology Accessible To Everyone
Learn how to think about technology in a fast-moving world — I‘ll show you what matters and filter out the rest.
Hi, I'm Joe.
You can call me @mergesort
And I make technology accessible to everyone by sharing lessons about engineering, product development, design, business, marketing, and AI.
Latest Posts
Build.ms: Making Technology Accessible To Everyone
Learn how to think about technology in a fast-moving world — I‘ll show you what matters and filter out the rest.
AI (Without the Hype)
I spoke at NSSpain this year and gave a wide-ranging talk AI, building from the fundamentals to real-world uses — with something for everyone.
The Democratization of AI
The barrier to building with AI has dropped thousands-fold. What happens when you give everyone the tools to implement their ideas?
The Claude Code Moment
The sudden adoption of Claude Code by non-technical people represents an important moment in time — and one that will have a lasting impact on the way we work.
Codex vs. Claude Code (Today)
Every AI tool has its strengths and weaknesses, and the only way to discover what they are is by using them.
Building Software From Blog Posts
Did you know you can just point AI at a blog post and have it build a piece of software? That‘s where we are now.
Scribblenauts For Software
AI lets people build any tool in minutes at practically zero cost. The result? An era of personalized, on-demand software.
The Past, Present, and Future of AI Workshops with @mergesort
Six months teaching people to build with AI taught me one thing: most people are just a few questions away from learning so much.
Your First Claude (and ChatGPT) Skill
Learn a new and powerful way to build software on-demand, with little more than a simple description. No code required.
How I Used ChatGPT Over A Long Weekend
Real-world examples of how I used ChatGPT over a four-day weekend, providing practical insights for anyone curious about working with large language models.
The Rule of Small and Large
A personal framework for choosing projects: focus on either small projects for quick learning or large projects for meaningful impact, while avoiding the medium-sized trap.
Empower Apps Podcast: Building Plinky as an Indie Developer
Leo Dion and I discuss building Plinky from scratch, the technical decisions behind using SwiftUI and Vapor, creating delightful user experiences, and the journey from working at Twitter to becoming an indie developer.
A Mental Model For Prompting Large Language Models
A practical analogy for understanding and improving how you work with AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude, moving beyond tips and tricks to develop better judgment.
Monarch: Minimal, Manageable, Migrations 🦋
Introducing Monarch, a simple yet flexible migrations library for Swift that helps manage user data changes across app updates with minimal hassle.
Building A Customizable Framer Component
A technical walkthrough of building a customizable Framer Code Component for Buttondown email signups, complete with Property Controls and open source code.
Featured Projects
App
Plinky
Easily save links with just one tap, to enjoy them later on any device. As featured on the App Store.
AI
Promptly
Learn to prompt like a pro by practicing with real scenarios, and get expert AI feedback to level up your AI skills.
Open Source
Boutique
A magical persistence library (and so much more) to help you build state-driven iOS and Mac apps in three lines of code.
App
Short Circuit
A delightful way to chat with ChatGPT, and one of the first AI apps on the App Store.
Open Source
Recap
A drop-in, one line, fully customizable 'What's New' Screen, with a few tricks up it's sleeve.
App
Skylink
Search any Bluesky feed to find links matching any term, domain, or URL. The default feed is the Gift Links feed — so maybe find yourself a good read?