Seam - never forget a name

Inspiration

We flew into Miami Hack week and immediately started connecting with so many amazing people at the opening ceremony! Unfortunately, when we woke up the next morning, the jumble of new phone numbers, Twitter followers, and IG contacts, we lost all the context of what we talked about and who we should follow up with.

We built Seam so that you never forget a name.

What it does

People don't want to download new apps in the moment to connect with people. So, Seam allows you to connect with someone by having them simply scan your QR code. They'll enter their details, you'll enter a note to remind yourselves on the context, and once the process is done they'll get text with your details.

When you add a new connection on Seam, you'll be able to review your notes and their connection info in the Contacts tab. If they download Seam in the future, they'll also get access the collaborative relationship page.

How we built it

Seam is build in two parts: the client iOS app, and the webapp that pops up when someone new scans the QR code.

Swift App

Features:

Phone number authentication (hosted by Firebase)
Custom QR code is generated based on name and
Client creates a potential_connection and then listens to changes. When the qr_code_scanned field changes, then we can transition to the contact page.
The contact page features live typing of the name of the person you are meeting, as well as a field you can fill out to add notes about your reaction.
Dismissing the modal creates a new potential_connection, ready to meet another person!

React App

The react app parses the incoming partial_connection id, and then writes qr_code_scanned=true.
Each keystroke on the display name field is sent to the database so that the client can update in real time.
Once the form is submitted, the new friend gets a text with your info. Done!

Accomplishments that we're proud of

It was an extraordinarily ambitious hackathon project; building both an iOS app and a webapp at the same time. Our design philosophy was to simplify the flow to make the connection as seamless as possible without requiring an extra app download.

We've used Seam to successfully connect with so many people in all the different hack houses.

What we learned

In addition to hacking on our project, we also accomplished a huge amount of user research around how people connect 1:1 IRL.

People won't want to download a new app in the moment.
There's currently fragmentation in the way people want to stay connected in different platforms (IG, Telegram, Twitter, phone numbers)

What's next for Seam

Connecting people 1:1 is only the early game for Seam. Once we defeat the coldstart problem by adding new connections on Seam, we can add new features around intros. Seam will create flourishing communities by forming individual connections first, and in doing so, change the way that people assemble into groups in our society.