linkhub-event-app

The application that allows users to create virtual events for strangers to attend for networking, gaming and partying.

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The Problem

Ever since the pandemic, we have become out of touch with each other as it relates to socializing. We crave conversation, the joy and laughter but we are trapped inside with no one to contact except a group of friends.

Proposing the Solution

LinkHub is the application that allows users to create virtual events to host online parties. These parties can be public to everyone or private to a reserved list. Each user is able to create an event, search for an event and view trending events.

Project Scope

  • A user must be able to create an event.
  • A user must be able to view an event.
  • A user must be able to search for events based on categories (Gaming, Networking, Partying).
  • A user must be able to share a livestream link to a third party service (Twitch, Youtube).
  • A user must be able to edit and delete events.

Design

I created the mockups using Figma. I have included them in this posting. I also wiredframed the application with pen and paper to determine how much I could implement within this period and what the full scale of the application would look like.

Tech Stack

The proposition was to use React as it would be fast to use Material UI to create the interface, then use Google Firebase to host the service and use cloud functions to make the app come to life. React is an optimal tool as Vanilla JavaScript can become tedious to maintain when scaling. React also has support for Material UI to make the website look more modern (though this could be achieved with Bootstrap in Vanilla Js). Server-side programming would be challenging so GCP services would be used to leverage the work of having to create server endpoints and consume APIs to get a similar result to a Google Cloud Platform service like Cloud Functions and FireStore. Not to mention, creating a custom backend also requires a database. Why create just a cloud database when I can also use the cloud platform to ease development

Challenges

Internet connection was a huge problem. The Material UI Kit I wanted to use did not work and I was struggling with just the UI for the majority of the hackathon due to my poor front end skills and the lack of documentation and tutorial videos. I am not the best at creating UIs so I figured using a template would speed things up, but it ended up costing me the project. I was not able to implement Firestore or Cloud functions because of the limited time. If I could go back in time, I would've stuck with basic CSS and JSX.

Evolution

In the future, I plan to implement authentication as well as third party links to Discord, Zoom, Skype and Google Teams meetings for the virtual events. I also intend to achieve the full scope of the project requirements over the course of six months.

Closing remarks

I thank the GrizzHacks team for this opportunity to participate and I look forward to your critique!

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