Pawndr

Pawndr is an instant messaging and voice journaling app that sends you prompts, records your responses, and lets you effortlessly revisit your past reflections.

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Inspiration

We recognized that many individuals are keen on embracing journaling as a habit, but hurdles like the "all or nothing" mindset often hinder their progress. The pressure to write extensively or perfectly every time can be overwhelming, deterring potential journalers. Consistency poses another challenge, with life's busy rhythm making it hard to maintain a daily writing routine. The common issue of forgetting to journal compounds the struggle, as people find it difficult to integrate this practice seamlessly into their day. Furthermore, the blank page can be intimidating, leaving many uncertain about what to write and causing them to abandon the idea altogether. In addressing these barriers, our aim with Pawndr is to make journaling an inviting, effortless, and supportive experience for everyone, encouraging a sustainable habit that fits naturally into daily life.

What it does

Pawndr is a journaling app that connects with you through text and voice. You will receive conversational prompts delivered to their phone, sparking meaningful reflections wherever you are and making journaling more accessible and fun. Simply reply to our friendly messages with your thoughts or responses to our prompts, and watch your personal journey unfold. Your memories are safely stored, easy accessible through our web app, and beautifully organized. Pawndr is able to transform your daily moments into a rich tapestry of self-discovery.

How we built it

The front-end was built using react.js. We built the backend using FastAPI, and used MongoDB as our database. We deployed our web application and API to a Google Cloud VM using nginx and uvicorn. We utilized Infobip to build our primary user interaction method. Finally, we made use of OpenAI's GPT 3 and Whisper APIs to power organic journaling conversations.

Challenges we ran into

Our user stories required us to use 10 digit phone numbers for SMS messaging via Infobip. However, Canadian regulations blocked any live messages we sent using the Infobip API. Unfortunately, this was a niche problem that the sponsor reps could not help us with (we still really appreciate all of their help and support!! <3), so we pivoted to a WhatsApp interface instead.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud of being able to quickly problem-solve and pivot to a WhatsApp interface upon the SMS difficulties. We are also proud of being able to integrate our project into an end-to-end working demo, allowing hackathon participants to experience our project vision.

What we learned

We learned how to deploy a web app to a cloud VM using nginx. We also learned how to use Infobip to interface with WhatsApp business and SMS. We learned about the various benefits of journaling, the common barriers to journaling, and how to make journaling rewarding, effortless, and accessible to users.

What's next for Pawndr

We want to implement more channels to allow our users to use any platform of their choice to journal with us (SMS, Messenger, WhatsApp, WeChat, etc.). We also hope to have more comprehensive sentiment analysis visualization, including plots of mood trends over time.

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