Song Globe

Inspiration

Music is a universal language, but finding people who share your unique taste, especially for niche genre can be challenging. As a team of music lovers, we wanted to create a platform that bridges this gap. Whether you're into underground techno, indie folk, or experimental jazz, Song Globe helps you discover and connect with others who share your passion, right in your area.

We envisioned a world where music isn’t just something you listen to, it’s something you share, explore, and use to connect with others. That’s how Song Globe was born.

What it does

Song Globe is a location based music sharing platform that allows users to:

• Drop pins on a map and attach a song to it.
• Explore songs shared by others in specific locations.
• Connect with people who have similar music tastes.

Think of it as a global music map where every pin tells a story, and every song brings people closer together.

How we built it

This was a full-stack development project built with:

• Frontend: React for a dynamic and responsive user interface.
• Backend: JavaScript (Node.js) to handle server side logic and API integrations.
• Database: MongoDB to store user data, pins, and song information.

We leveraged open source map visualization libraries and customized them to allow users to add, remove, and interact with pins dynamically. This saved us time and allowed us to focus on the unique features of our app.

Challenges we ran into

1. Idea Generation: Since some team members had never met before, the first day was spent brainstorming and aligning on a single idea. It took time to settle on Song Globe as our final concept.

2. Scope Creep: Initially, everyone had different visions for the product. Narrowing down the scope was challenging but necessary to deliver a functional prototype.

3. Learning Curve: As a team relatively new to full stack development, we faced a steep learning curve. We had to learn while building, which was both exciting and time consuming.

4. API Integration: We wanted to integrate a music player using Spotify, YouTube, or SoundCloud APIs. However, we ran into issues with API costs, documentation, and implementation. This feature remains a stretch goal for future iterations.

5. Time Management: Balancing learning, coding, and debugging within the tight timeframe of a hackathon was a constant challenge.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

• Successfully building a functional full stack application in a short timeframe.
• Creating a seamless map interface with interactive pins.
• Overcoming the initial hurdles of team collaboration and idea alignment.
• Delivering a product that aligns with our vision of connecting people through music.

What we learned

• Technical Skills: Full stack development, API integration, and working with open source libraries.
• Teamwork: Collaborating with new teammates, dividing tasks effectively, and communicating under pressure.
• Adaptability: Pivoting when initial plans didn’t work out and finding creative solutions to problems.
• Time Management: Prioritizing tasks and staying focused on the core features of the product.

What's next for Song Globe

While we’re proud of what we’ve accomplished so far, there’s still a lot to explore and improve:

1. Community Features: Introducing features like playlists, comments, and real-time notifications to foster a stronger sense of community. A big feature that was in the works was detecting nearby users and songs that match your taste using AI integration. However, this was unable to be done due to time constraints.
2. Hosting the Platform: Deploying Song Globe on a live domain to make it accessible to users worldwide.
3. Music Player Integration: Implementing a seamless music player using Spotify, YouTube, or SoundCloud APIs.
4. User Authentication: Adding user accounts and profiles to enable deeper connections between users.
5. UI/UX Polish: Refining the design to make the app more intuitive and visually appealing.

Song Globe is more than just an app it’s a movement to bring people together through the power of music.

Built With

• axios
• cors
• css
• express.js
• javascript
• leaflet.js
• mongodb
• mongoose
• node.js
• react
• spotify