Flock

App Icon
Coded Map View Tab
Log of all messages sent and received
Pidge (Our Mascot)

Inspiration

We wanted to use technology to encourage connection and community offline and combat isolation. A lot of technology seeks to improve connection but only online, leading people to retreat into the internet and ultimately feel alone because of a lack of real, in-person community. What if there was an easier way to find people around you who are available to spend time together on the fly? To find a buddy to walk home at night with or to study for the same class with or to join you to run errands? Some apps, like Find My Friends, allow users to view which of their friends are geographically close to them, but there are challenges to utilizing this information to promote in-person connection: a) users have to share their exact location, all the time, which can conflict with the desire for privacy, b) there is an additional barrier of availability; it can be demoralizing to contact several people to determine if they are able to join you, and c) it works across all operating systems by utilizing SMS, therefore reducing friction and enabling more users.

What it does

Our app, “Flock”, promotes social connection offline, helping users to actually meet up with friends who are in convenient proximity to them. Think of it as “Find My Friends” but with text blasts. Users send a broadcast, or a “pidge” (short for pigeon) to any friends within a certain radius of them, to invite people to join them.

It’s meant to encourage local community and spontaneity, grounding connections in the tangible and offline. This is what sets us apart from other social media apps. The app itself isn’t meant to take a lot of time to use but instead promotes engagement outside of your phone (less screen time, more time touching grass). See which friends are nearby and free to meet up on the fly. Whether you need a study buddy, someone to walk home with, or just want company running errands, Flock makes it easy to connect in real life. Flock promotes safety, too. Walking home alone at night and feeling a bit nervous? Just send a quick message to see who's nearby and free to walk with you. Flock serves as a digital buddy system, so you can feel safer getting home. Less screen time, more face-to-face connection

How we built it

Flock was built with a combination of technologies to facilitate real-life meetups. The backend uses Node.js with Express.js to create an API that handles user data and "pidges" (broadcasts), storing and retrieving them from a MongoDB database. This API allows users to register, send pidges to nearby friends, and view their pidge history. The front end is a React Native application that interacts with this API, enabling users to send and receive broadcasts. After receiving pidges, users can reply if they want to join. We also obscure the exact location of users until a user’s specific invitation is accepted, at which point their location is visible to those who join until the end of the timeframe. s To maximize accessibility, the app utilizes SMS for cross-platform communication, ensuring that users can connect with friends regardless of their smartphone's operating system. This reduces friction and enables more users.

Challenges we ran into

We have no experience with mobile app development so it was a learning curve to set the native react environment up and it took us a good amount of time reading through SDKs and tutorials to get into the flow. IOS on react native is not as versatile as Andriod which we did not know until we started running into issues; there are many restrictions that we had to find creative solutions for to get our functionalities.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We built our first full-stack mobile application! We are proud of the concept and features that came out as a result of our ideation and we are excited about this product. Setting up the location and notification APIs, and MongoDB was a learning experience and a great accomplishment once we got them to work.

What we learned

Learned to use React Native and Xcode. We also learned how to adapt quickly and use unconventional, creative solutions to meet our specific needs. We are glad we explored all of the resources provided by sponsors and learned to use many of their products.

What's next for Flock

Improving the user experience, emulating the spontaneity and playfulness of our vision through our design.
Making the app accessible to users everywhere, across platforms.