Schmood

Inspiration

I'm one of those people who always has a million tabs on multiple browser windows, but I find myself often visiting the same webpages. I'll sometimes try and group my browser windows into categories: work, social media, news, etc., but this gets overwhelming and I'm reluctant to close any windows/tabs because I know I'd have to load them all over again eventually. I needed a solution that could let me enjoy my multitude of tabs that I open frequently and allow me to close my windows in peace without having to reload all of them over again the next day. Other resources, such as Bookmarks and other chrome extensions, never really gave me what I was looking for: I needed something easier than manually clicking or entering each webpage that I wanted to load.

What it does

Schmood (urban slang for "a really big mood") gives you several options that encapsulate most of users' (especially college students like myself) browsing experiences. Users can click on different "mood" options depending on what they currently need the browser for:

On the Grind (for when you need to be productive): this loads up gmail, github, google docs, a new tab for google search, and websites for your college courses)
Happy Bum (for days/nights in dedicated to binge watching): this loads up netflix, hulu, and youtube.
Keep Calm (for stressful times when you need a bit of motivation and relaxation): this loads up two of my favorite websites that calm me down: rainymood which plays rain sounds, and a tumblr page called calmingmanatee filled with encouraging messages.
Stay Woke (for staying updated with the world): this loads up Ted, the New York Times, and Global Voices.
Study Break (for your regular dose of procrastination): this loads up facebook, twitter, reddit, pinterest, and tumblr.
Everyday (for websites you use everyday): this currently just loads up gmail (because I check my email religiously).

How I built it

Google documentation and sugary snacks carried me through.

Challenges I ran into

This was my first time using Javascript and Chrome APIs, so that posed a bit of a challenge at first when I was getting used to the syntax and rules.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

I made a Chrome extension that I can use everyday!

What I learned

Carefully reading the documentation is so important because it saves so much time in the long run and prevents mistakes that may be tedious to fix.

What's next for Schmood

I really want this extension to be just as useful for other users as it is for me. I'm currently adding a "custom links" options page where users can customize the webpages that are loaded for each "mood". For example, college students can load their own course websites, choose what social media sites they usually visit, etc.