Time flies! 2017 was a particularly busy year for me professionally (I have a few things to show for it, but many of the projects are still under wraps), so I feel like I haven't been giving my web toys all the love they deserve...

Even so:

• I created Arty Widget, spurred on by the realization Electric Objects were never going to be everything I was hoping for.
• I created Quotes, based on a comment on one of my posts here.
• I made it possible to Fathom by artist and hooked it up to Now Playing and Interchange (though I still haven't created an in-app UI for it).
• Various maintenance things: I fixed Fathom when Spotify broke it by changing their API. I don't think I mentioned here, but I also migrated my web toys over to a new hosting provider when the old one went under.
• I also spent a lot of time keeping the wheels turning at OpenSeadragon, including a major release. I guess it's not necessarily a "web toy" itself, but it powers many web toys and more. It's wonderful to see all the people creating cool stuff with it, like this amazing Game of Thrones tapestry!

So, I think it's been a good year, and I'm glad to have had y'all along with me for it!

Speaking of Arty Widget, a couple of recent updates: 

• Presentation mode now has a full-screen button so you can bathe in the glorious pixels.
• You can now upload a thumbnail when you add an artwork (so we have something to show on the front screen).

With those touches, I feel like Arty Widget is now a solid MVP. There is certainly more development that can be done on it, but at this point the real work is getting more artworks in there, which means spreading the word to collectors and creators alike. 

So, what shall we do in 2018?

• I had big plans for Fathom before diving into Arty Widget. I figure it's time to get back to that, starting with an artist search UI.
• I've been dabbling with resurrecting the Seize the Day Living Worlds. I still get fan mail about them, and pixel art continues to be a much-loved artform. At the moment I'm thinking about releasing them as iOS (and possibly Android) apps, as ambient experiences that change with the time of day.
• Promoting Arty Widget and collecting more artworks.
• Continuing to facilitate the OpenSeadragon community.

What do you think? Any requests?

Let's make 2018 a good one!