LinkedOut

Because connections are better when you’re out 🏳️‍🌈🏙️

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Inspiration

In an era defined by post-pandemic isolation and the current intolerant administration, queer people face unprecedented challenges to their sense of community and overall well-being. In fact, 32.1% of U.S. adults report feelings of loneliness, and this number increases to 53.8% for those who identify as LGBTQ+.

Additionally, current solutions are primarily for restaurants, for the general population, and crowded by bots and strangers. We aim to revolutionize this space, involving various businesses or gathering places, your friends or people you trust, and a specific marginalized community.

By encouraging people to go out, connect, and exchange insights, we hope to alleviate the burden on LGBTQ+ individuals and foster community among one of the most vulnerable populations today.

What it does

LinkedOut is a digital repository and map of queer-friendly gathering places.

Reviews and routes: With an interactive map, navigate through queer-friendly gathering places, including queer-owned businesses and local hot spots. Read your friends’ reviews and, after you’ve visited, write your own. Plus, view the exact routes your friends took to these places to help you on your own journey there.

Community tags: Use tags like “Black-owned,” “Trans-friendly,” and “Historical site” to learn more about places and intentionally plan your visit. These tags are primarily added by business owners themselves or collectively contributed by the community.

Accessibility features: Notice if locations have tags indicating wheel-chair accessibility or service animal-friendliness. If you’re hard of hearing, use text-to-speech to audibly explore the city.

Two-can do this: Find a buddy and discover new places together! Once you’ve decided on a time and place, send out a message through the app to invite others.

Stamp book: Document your local adventures with a stamp book that allows you to record achievements such as “visit a BIPOC-owned business.” Upload pictures to look back at your fond memories.

How we built it

  • Figma to build the mock-up and prototype
  • React and CSS to build the web app
  • Leaflet and Mapbox API to integrate an interactive map
  • v0.dev as a more helpful alternative to ChatGPT
  • Git/GitHub for collaboration

Challenges we ran into

  • Narrowing the scope of our project (we want to be inclusive but realistic)
  • Building an app meant for mobile with limited relevant experience
  • Balancing both design and technical implementation during a short timeframe

Accomplishments that we're proud of

  • Creating the character of Bodacious Beak Brat Toucan
  • Integrating a map into our app, something none of our team members have done before
  • We had fun :D shoutout to the QWER Hacks organizing team <3

What we learned

  • Using Figma to create a fully fleshed out mock-up and prototype
  • Accessibility and community go hand-in-hand
  • Building a technical solution specifically for the LGBTQ+ community

What's next for LinkedOut

  • Partner with LGBTQ+ organizations already doing the work (e.g. Everywhere is Queer)
  • Expand to include other marginalized communities and cities
  • Connect to existing services (e.g. Google Maps) to streamline the user experience

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