NeighborLink

The inspiration for NeighborLink came from recognizing a gap in current social media platforms. Existing tools such as messengers, WhatsApp, Facebook or Instagram are often too broad and not focused on the local needs of immediate neighborhoods. So, we aimed to create a trusted, community hub to help neighbors organize events, share resources, and connect directly through text, solving common problems like finding a local babysitter, or selling an old book. NeighborLink mainly works using community Channels which act as separate feeds for General discussions, Events (for organizing meetups and RSVPs), and a Marketplace (for buying, selling, or sharing items). It also has real-time engagement in which users can post updates, add images, and engage in direct messaging with real-time features like typing indicators and read receipts. All these are possible by our precise location-Based Matching based on zip codes and neighborhoods names to address privacy issues. We built NeighborLink using modern, real-time focused tech. For the frontend we used react and Vite for a fast and reactive user interface, styled with Tailwind CSS. Backend & Real-time was possible using the convex Api key which unified the backend for its built-in database, real-time queries, and serverless functions. Lastly, the authentication uses secure user sign-in using user one-time passwords or also known as OTPs. During the development of our prototype, we ran into obstacles like real-time data management since our initial prototype was not able to handle numerous posts in the General channel. Additionally, the location paring logic was difficult because we had to pair neighbors with safety. Furthermore, designing the interface was difficult since we needed to prevent channel clutter, to make it easy for users to quickly find relevant events or marketplace information they need. At the end of the development, we are proud of the real-time experience using Convex since it can handle many people and it also provides features like type indicators and live feed updates. Additionally, we are proud of our functional minimum viable product that handles user authentication, posting images and private messaging with ease. Along with our accomplishments, we gained significant experience in data normalization and building effecting indexing when querying based on location and real-time events. For our next steps as Neighbor Link, we aim to implement automated tools and user reporting features to ensure community safety, add groups chats functionality to help people communicate together and also a UX for mobile users.

Built With

• convex
• convexapi
• css
• html
• lucidereact
• react19
• shadcnui
• typescript
• vite