ZenGreet

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Inspiration

I was inspired by the need for social connection and kindness, especially now that we've become very isolated. It's very motivating to hear someone genuinely give you well wishes, and it also feels really good to give them. So I created an app that pairs you with strangers so you can do just that.

What it does

It's easy to feel stressed and disconnected amid the COVID-19 crisis. It's also easy to forget why we need to remain vigilant about staying safe. At ZenGreet, you'll be paired with a random person, together you'll offer kind greetings:

May you be happy

May you be healthy

May you stay safe

You'll then be paired with another person and repeat. You're welcome to keep meeting new people for as long as you like. By connecting with others and offering them sincere well wishes, we hope you'll feel more connected, hopeful, and motivated to stay safe.

How I built it

I used node.js WebRTC, and socket.io.

Challenges I ran into

WebRTC WebRTC WebRTC, it's a tough cookie to crack, there are a lot of potential errors that you have to deal with and at the end of the day, it might not work on a lot of devices. In a perfect world it would work smoothly but as we all know the world is definitely not perfect, it still has a long ways to go before it streams video smoothly on all devices.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

I eventually got the video chat to work!

What I learned

This is the first node.js app that I've deployed, Heroku really did all the heavy lifting but it was great to go through it.

What's next for ZenGreet

I'd love to make ZenGreet into a mobile app, it would be easier to monitor the video streaming on iOS and Android...in theory...I'd also love to access the mobile market, which is pretty important these days.