Nolen Royalty built something very cool:
On June 26th 2024, I launched a website called One Million Checkboxes (OMCB). It had one million global checkboxes on it - checking (or unchecking) a box changed it for everyone on the site, instantly.
What a nifty idea. Flippant and fun, this is the sort of website I miss and think1 I can recall from my college years (late 2000’s into 2010’s).
The article goes on to describe how he built it, how he rapidly scaled it, and what an adventure it must have been to get such huge attention on something so inconsequential. Fascinating.
For additional entertainment, read this story of how Nolen believed the site had been hacked – and how the ultimate outcome was a bunch of young kids on the internet having a good time. Ransomware? Teens on the internet. Pranks like this? Also, teens2 on the internet.