The challenge started when I realized I no longer use Facebook regularly and couldn't easily list events by location. I wanted a single feed showing all gigs and music events from venues I follow. The idea seemed straightforward: scrape events from Facebook and display them neatly in an app. In theory, it sounded simple, but in practice, the hurdles were more numerous than I anticipated. From figuring out how to access the data to ensuring the events were filtered properly and displayed clearly, I quickly realized this project would test not only technical skills but also patience and problem-solving.
Searching for the Right Note
I began by choosing the right tool, and Firebase Studio felt like the most practical option. It allowed me to spin up a prototype quickly and manage data efficiently. My first prompt generated a basic interface with a simple event list, but it needed work:
As a user, I want to be able to select a city and one or more venues (using the Facebook location field), and then, on a separate page, see any new events created for those venues.
Users should be able to add as many venues as they want.
The app will have two main pages: the first lists all selected venues, and the second displays all upcoming events for those venues.
The app relies on AI to scrape events from Facebook.
I iterated on the prompt, refining the interface and adjusting the card design to make it cleaner, but limitations became apparent: the images from the events couldn't be fetched reliably, so I had to remove them entirely. Another wrinkle was making sure the feed only displayed future events, which required tweaking filters and adding logic in the prompt itself. Each step felt like a small experiment, a back-and-forth negotiation between what I imagined and what was technically feasible, but I managed to get a usable product:
Looking ahead, there are several ways this app could be made more useful. Adding the ability to set reminders for events would help users stay on top of gigs they don't want to miss. A pinning feature could let people mark favorite events or venues for quick access. Expanding beyond a single city, or including all the venues I follow, would make the feed far more comprehensive. Each of these improvements would bring the app closer to a fully functional, personalized event companion.
The most obvious limitation was scraping events from Facebook, which required event IDs I couldn't access. As a result, the events in the feed were essentially placeholders, and the images couldn't be displayed. These compromises meant the final product didn't exactly match my original vision, and the project took longer than I initially expected, mainly due to iterative prompt adjustments.
Yet, despite these obstacles, I'm satisfied with the outcome. I now have a functional MVP and, perhaps more importantly, a much deeper understanding of what a real version of this app would demand — access to proper data, careful interface design, and the mechanics to handle dynamic content. Even when things don't go perfectly, there's a lot of value in building, testing, and learning from the process itself. It's a reminder that sometimes the journey teaches more than the final product.