Approaching our project

I firmly believe that the best motivation for learning new technology is a project that excites you that you can't wait to build. As an experienced developer, you've probably already built a number of successful commercial projects that share certain product features, design patterns, and even target audiences. In this book, I want you to build a project that feels like a breath of fresh air. A project, which you most likely wouldn't build in your day-to-day work. It has to be a fun endeavor, which will not only educate you but also satisfy your curiosity and stretch your imagination. However, assuming that you're a busy professional, this project shouldn't be a time-consuming, long-term commitment for you either.

Enter Snapterest—a web application that allows you to discover and collect public photos posted on Twitter. Think of it as a Pinterest (www.pinterest.com) with the only source of pictures being Twitter. We will implement a fully functional website with the...