Hi everyone, 
Wow, what a road it has been.
It’s been 8 months since the first person signed up for invite codes to our Early Access launch at Metamorphic and tonight, through the rest of this month, I am sending out the first round of emails to people.
It's been quite a journey
In 2020, I had a crazy idea to make an alternative way for people to connect and share online. Inspired by becoming a father (“Dada”), my own observations and intuitions about the effects of current platforms, and culminating with Shoshana Zuboff’s latest book on surveillance capitalism, I set off to not only build Metamorphic but also learn how to build it too.
Learning to Code
At the time, I had limited experience with Python and Ruby. With Python I had made a simple arcade-style game, called Paper Space Arcade, and packaged and shipped it for $0.99 to anyone with a Windows OS — it even featured an original soundtrack/score and my twin nephews loved to come over and play.
After Paper Space Arcade, I turned to web development to make a website for my partner-at-the-time to assist with her job applications and resume. This led to me discovering the Django framework and I began work building a job search for architects website called The Grid (wayback machine).
Switching from game development to web development was like turning the dopamine switch on high. The gap between code and “useable” shrank to almost nothing. Suddenly I could imagine turning an idea into a reality before the sun went down. It was an empowering feeling made intoxicating by its immediacy.
The Covid Age
When Covid hit, I felt both inspired and powerless to help. Day after day I’d read updates on the increasing numbers and wonder what I could do. Ultimately, not that much, but it drove me to add a search feature to The Grid that was updated with the Covid data from Johns Hopkins and enabled people to quickly and easily search by county around the world.
While The Grid failed, it was a great exercise in learning and avenue for channeling my creative energies and desire to help (it mostly just stressed people out whenever I commented on the latest numbers for their county).
Do all webs spin from Ruby?
As I immersed myself more and more in Python and Django, I inevitably discovered Ruby and Ruby on Rails. My first impression of Rails was “syntax confusion”, but I found myself charmed by the passion and philosophy of its fans and kept coming back to it.
So, I began building a portfolio site for my same partner-at-the-time using Ruby on Rails and I like to believe that it helped play a small role in landing her a job (the architects commented on how impressed they were with her site — though largely due to her design is my guess).
A transformation begins
Around the end of 2020, the idea that my company with my co-founder-at-the-time would raise money and successfully develop video games came to an end. I had also been the primary-caregiver to my incredible little one and found myself realizing how much I valued my role as such.
While I was demoralized about the end of the “video game dream”, I found myself increasingly inspired to do something that would have a positive effect on the world for my little one. That’s when I decided to commit to building another way to connect and share online — insulated against the raging surveillance economy.
Early versions
Since Ruby was the latest language I had been working in, I embarked to build Metamorphic with Ruby and Ruby on Rails. It’s hard to imagine or even remember these early versions, but I do recall consistently bumping up against the need to do so much more with so much less.
While I was stumbling over the same development hurdles with Ruby and Rails, I learned about Elixir and Phoenix from that similarly momentous Chris McCord Twitter clone.
However, I was initially turned away again from my first impression of the syntax and feeling my brain explode every time I saw symbols moving through other symbols:
# From Chris McCord's demo
def inc_likes(%Post{id: id}) do
from(p in Post, where: p.id == ^id, select: p)
|> Repo.update_all(inc: [likes_count: 1])
end
But, destiny beckoned, and I sat down one night and followed along — throwing out any attempt to understand and just going along for the ride.
And what a ride it was. When I played with the finished demo on my own laptop it was like hitting reset on the dopamine switch. I didn’t know much of anything about Elixir and Phoenix, but I knew I had found the tools that would give me the best shot I had at making Metamorphic come true.
Today
And now, nearly 2 years later, I am finally “ready” (ohhh boy…) to start sending out the first round of Early Access invites. I had no idea that it would take me this long when I first set out to make it.
My naivete was a blessing because I probably wouldn’t have attempted Metamorphic if I had realized what I would go through along the way. I still don’t know.
The community around Elixir is simply phenomenal. Whether it’s a podcast or this forum, people are compassionate, kind, and inspiring (not to mention brilliant and skilled — seriously, wow). And it goes without saying, but I’ll keep saying it, that Metamorphic wouldn’t be possible without the community.
With luck and work, I’ll be able to keep contributing and giving back to the community even more (so far that Ecto guide and simple HaveIBeenPwned? alt-library).
A final personal note around Early Access
I mentioned I’ve been going through a challenging time outside of Metamorphic, which had delayed my original launch plans.
And it’s true, as a father and primary-caregiver going through a… nightmare of a divorce… going through all sorts of court/legal fights (family and criminal)… being isolated with the little one from our family and support network on the other end of a large country… while moving in our first blizzard… I’ve had to handle more than I ever thought I was capable of.
So, I cross my fingers that Early Access members will be patient and understanding with any hiccups or “bugs” as I work to make Metamorphic as awesome as it can be for everyone, while also working to make sure my little one’s life is as awesome as it can be for them too.
I’ve been so fortunate to have such incredible support in my personal life and in this community, and so from the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone.
I’m so excited to welcome people on this crazy journey with me.
To a better future together,
Mark
). I will be rolling invites out in batches and beginning with people that I think will be the most patient and willing to stick around through the ongoing development process and UX evolution. 
Once I’ve finished with the round 1 invites, then I will update the landing page with the date for the next round. At this point, I’m foreseeing about 3 rounds and possible month or two in between rounds depending on how it goes.
(using WebRTC)
and colors (including dark mode toggle)
).
).
): October 25, 2022.
