> Markdown version of [/videos/100633-why-your-side-projects-are-worth-sharing?t=1363](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100633-why-your-side-projects-are-worth-sharing?t=1363). Every page supports `.md` or `Accept: text/markdown`. Links point to the HTML versions so they work for humans too. Agent guide: [/agents.md](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/agents.md).

---

# Why Your Side Projects Are Worth Sharing

Haimantika Mitra proves that building quirky side projects accelerates your developer career faster than startup hustle culture. Stop hiding your weekend code experiments and start sharing them today.

- **Speakers:** [Haimantika Mitra](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/@haimantika-mitra), [Chris Heilmann](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/@chris-heilmann), [Daniel Cranney](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/@daniel-cranney)
- **Event:** WeAreDevelopers LIVE
- **Published:** November 11, 2026
- **Duration:** 1:07:20
- **URL:** https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100633-why-your-side-projects-are-worth-sharing
- **Thumbnail URL:** https://customer-goifxnzhrq3d0d54.cloudflarestream.com/e913fd93bc9ffdc8bdf74d1875077f27/thumbnails/thumbnail.jpg?time=325022ms

## Summary

The discussion examines the shifting landscape of web browsing and developer tools, contrasting Apple's forced adaptive dark mode in Safari against the broader trend of AI agents replacing traditional browser interfaces. The hosts analyze Discord's transition away from Electron for performance gains and Google indexing public server messages, before diving into the limitations of AI in quality assurance. Highlighting that AI pull request reviews still generate massive false positives, the consensus heavily favors keeping human engineers in the loop for complex context and security. Exploring front-end advancements, the conversation showcases how native HTML and CSS features are eliminating the need for complex JavaScript. By leveraging the details element with a name attribute for exclusive accordions and CSS hover-not pseudo-classes for grid highlighting, developers can create highly accessible, interactive layouts natively. For AI workflows, utilizing the Chrome DevTools protocol instead of a full Chromium instance offers a vastly more efficient way for agents to interact with web elements. The core theme focuses on the immense value of building side projects driven by curiosity rather than hustle culture. Guest Haimantika Mitra shares how weekend coding experiments, like a voice AI-powered plank assessment tool or a localized desktop pet to combat remote work loneliness, naturally expand technical skills while solving personal problems. These whimsical, low-pressure creations foster genuine creativity and career visibility without the burden of launching a startup. Developers are strongly advised to establish clear hardware boundaries by using personal devices for side projects to avoid corporate intellectual property disputes. Ultimately, while technology moves at breakneck speed, maintaining mental well-being by stepping away from the screen remains the most critical practice.

**Keywords:** adaptive dark mode css, ai agent browser automation, discord electron performance, ai code review false positives, human in the loop qa, chrome devtools protocol agents, css only accordion native html, css hover not pseudo-class, voice ai integration, developer side project ideas, combating remote work loneliness, weekend coding experiments, intellectual property hardware boundaries, hustle culture burnout prevention

## Chapters

1. **Traveling to India and exploring authentic regional cuisine** (02:00) — Anticipation for a trip to India sparks a discussion on cultural differences and authentic regional cuisine.
1. **Networking on social media and the evolution of Twitter** (06:09) — How tech community relationships are formed online and why the shift from Twitter to X reduced platform whimsy.
1. **Apple adaptive dark mode and the evolution of web browsers** (09:57) — The implications of operating systems overriding website themes and how browser usage metrics shape the web.
1. **Discord search indexing and discarding the Electron framework** (17:16) — The privacy concerns of indexing public server messages and the performance benefits of moving away from Electron.
1. **Debating the reliability of AI agents for quality assurance** (22:43) — Why human oversight remains critical in software testing despite the rise of automated AI agents.
1. **Rebuilding the X application with AI and minimal engineering** (26:50) — Analyzing the claim that a small team rebuilt a major social platform from scratch in six months.
1. **Unexpected hardware features and web security vulnerabilities** (28:42) — An exploration of Chromium DevTools for agents, cross-device mouse tracking, and generating JavaScript strings without parentheses.
1. **Building a static blog using modern CSS and HTML** (36:45) — How native HTML elements and modern CSS features eliminate the need for JavaScript in simple UI components.
1. **Playing the Faker News tech headline guessing game** (43:38) — A game testing the ability to distinguish real technology news from fabricated AI headlines.
1. **Approaching side projects for learning and personal enjoyment** (48:50) — Why building fun experiments without pressure fosters creativity and practical skill development.
1. **Separating side projects from company hardware and resources** (63:52) — The legal and professional importance of building personal projects on personal devices.
1. **Upcoming developer events and prioritizing mental health over hustle** (65:06) — Details on upcoming community workshops and the importance of disconnecting to prevent developer burnout.

## Related Moments

- [Balancing developer productivity tools with digital nostalgia](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100363-wearedevelopers-live-playing-in-production) (from "WeAreDevelopers LIVE - Playing in Production")
  - **Thumbnail URL:** https://customer-goifxnzhrq3d0d54.cloudflarestream.com/e6f89ca14ebcb8a0344cb9f91636f863/thumbnails/thumbnail.jpg?time=3244273ms
- [Combating burnout through unproductive side projects](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1274-building-a-browser-based-karaoke-game-with-web-speech-api) (from "Building a Browser-Based Karaoke Game with Web Speech API")
  - **Thumbnail URL:** https://customer-goifxnzhrq3d0d54.cloudflarestream.com/d561664281d31ed32930465b50e20c43/thumbnails/thumbnail.jpg?time=158585ms
- [Cultivating developer creativity through independent web projects](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1850-wearedevelopers-live-css-or-bs) (from "WeAreDevelopers LIVE - CSS or BS?")
  - **Thumbnail URL:** https://customer-goifxnzhrq3d0d54.cloudflarestream.com/5c120564a44f21372d53f012f546f217/thumbnails/thumbnail.jpg?time=143740ms
- [Shifting developer workloads and realistic AI productivity gains](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1830-wearedevelopers-live-speculaitions) (from "WeAreDevelopers LIVE - SpeculAItions")
  - **Thumbnail URL:** https://customer-goifxnzhrq3d0d54.cloudflarestream.com/2cdb4226b123a771ffa9261c5605d057/thumbnails/thumbnail.jpg?time=202197ms
- [Exploring experimental side projects and specialized developer tools](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100626-wearedevelopers-live-your-brain-is-lying-to-you-cognitive-biases-in-development) (from "WeAreDevelopers LIVE: Your Brain Is Lying to You: Cognitive Biases in Development")
  - **Thumbnail URL:** https://customer-goifxnzhrq3d0d54.cloudflarestream.com/9ff00081a3eff673834150aeeddf6d46/thumbnails/thumbnail.jpg?time=4462500ms
- [Amplifying human stories in the tech industry](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100628-humans-in-the-loop-storytelling-in-tech) (from "Humans in the Loop: Storytelling in Tech")
  - **Thumbnail URL:** https://customer-goifxnzhrq3d0d54.cloudflarestream.com/ed95072ad1c568808f6c82aa629df38b/thumbnails/thumbnail.jpg?time=3635133ms

## Related Articles

- [Dev Digest 130 - The Diablo is in the details](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/470-dev-digest-130-the-diablo-is-in-the-details)
- [Dev Digest 139 - Soft and hard queries](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/487-dev-digest-139-soft-and-hard-queries)
- [Dev Digest 137 - AI'm not sure about this](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/485-dev-digest-137-ai-m-not-sure-about-this)
- [Dev Digest 125 - Duck and Cover](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/462-dev-digest-125-duck-and-cover)

## Related Jobs

- [Staff Developer Advocate, GitHub Security Lab](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/jobs/ext/3929243-staff-developer-advocate-github-security-lab) at **GitHub**
- [Senior Web Software Architect, AI Experiences](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/jobs/ext/4523834-senior-web-software-architect-ai-experiences) at **TeamViewer Germany GmbH**
- [Staff Frontend Design Engineer - AI & Systems Leader](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/jobs/ext/4622186-staff-frontend-design-engineer-ai-systems-leader) at **GitHub**
- [AI Software Engineer (Germany)](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/jobs/48317-ai-software-engineer-germany) at **Sunhat**
- [Senior Software Engineer, Angular (B2C Web Platform)](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/jobs/ext/3988925-senior-software-engineer-angular-b2c-web-platform) at **Bitpanda**
- [Staff Frontend Design Engineer - AI & Systems Leader](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/jobs/ext/4629402-staff-frontend-design-engineer-ai-systems-leader) at **GitHub**