Building TabNode: A Social Media App for Tech Bloggers with Appwrite
Tags: appwrite, hacktoberfest, webdev, hackathon
Published: 2023-05-14 05:51:57

I am participating in the upcoming Appwrite hackathon, and I am determined to win it no matter what. The hackathon will run from May 15, 2023 to June 14, 2023.

## "What is Appwrite?”

Appwrite is a backend-as-a-service that helps developers launch applications faster by providing all the necessary services, such as databases, authentication, storage, and cloud functions. You can self-host it, but now they've launched Appwrite Cloud, so there's no need to self-host. You can simply purchase a cloud subscription and start using it, which is awesome 😃.

## Have you used Appwrite before?

No, I have never coded anything using Appwrite. However, after seeing the hackathon tweet, I am super excited about it. I plan to learn everything about Appwrite by reading its documentation and watching free YouTube videos in just 2 to 3 days. You can count on me. I am passionate about this stuff 😐

## Have you worked on similar products?

Yes! I am a big fan of Firebase and have built several applications using it in the past. You can find them on my GitHub profile, but note that some of the projects may be private 🤣. I am confident that I can learn Appwrite quickly because I already have experience with similar cloud-based technologies.

## Why do you want to participate?

To make a long story short, I used to be very introverted, and to some extent, I still am. I made my computer my best friend and spent much of my time alone in my dark room with it. During this period, I only communicated with my very close school friend and my family. I didn't like making new friends because I didn't want casual friendships. I wanted friends who could trust me, help me become a better person, and stay with me lifelong. You might say I was afraid of making new friends due to past trauma.

But now I know that I can't do everything alone, especially if my dream is to start my own company. I must go out into the world, make friends, communicate, and seek help from the community and friends. That's why I decided, for the first time, to participate in this hackathon. By doing so, I can involve the Appwrite and Hashnode communities, make new friends, and hopefully land my dream job at one of the companies listed in my Notion's top 10 list. And guess what? Appwrite and Hashnode are both on that list.

## Where does Appwrite rank on your list of dream companies?

I am unable to disclose it at the moment, but I plan to release it after winning this hackathon. I am confident that I can win, and I will share the list with you all afterward.

## Do you have experience building large-scale applications?

Yes, I live for this kind of work. I promise to make my repository public after winning this hackathon because I love open-source. I want everyone to be able to contribute to my large-scale applications and learn from them. It would be a dream come true if you would open issues and submit pull requests to my project.

## Do you have experience in UI/UX?

Hey, just so you know, I'm really passionate about this kind of work. I have the skills to build a product from scratch and take it all the way to production-grade level, ready to launch to the market. So you can definitely count on me.

## Can you tell us your age and gender?

Yes, I am a 23-year-old male who turns ideas into reality 😎

## What are you building?

I plan to develop a social media application for tech bloggers that will include the following features:

- Users can register with GitHub and Twitter only.
- Users can set up an initial profile and choose topics (tags) that interest them.
- Users can create posts using Markdown. Initially, each user is limited to two posts to reduce costs.
- The search feature allows any user to easily search for other users.
- Our AI system will automatically detect up to four tags for each blog post.
- Users can follow each other, and we will use a recommendation engine to suggest other users to follow.
- Users can see a personalized feed.
- Users can comment, upvote, downvote, save, and share blog posts.
- Users can subscribe to bloggers to see their exclusive private blog posts, and they can also purchase individual blog posts.
- The feed page will include a blog story section that shows all the stories of the bloggers the user is following. This section will include an auto-generated summary and a call-to-action to read more. Bloggers can configure the theme of this section from their account.
- Each story will have a TTL of 12 hours and will be sorted according to the published date.
- When bloggers post new blogs, they will have the option to post them as stories that will go to all their followers.

## Have you decided on the name of this app?

Yes! I am going to call it TabNode, inspired by HashNode.

## What tech stack are you going to use?

I am planning to use the following technologies:

- Appwrite, obviously, for the backend part.
- We will use Figma to design and prototype.
- React or Angular in the frontend side, and Netlify for hosting.
- In-app notification system (NOVU).
- GPT-3.5-Turbo or Huggingface for AI Part.
- Stripe as the payment gateway.

## Do you need team members?

Yes, of course. Working with a team is something I crave. I have spent a lifetime building things alone and now I want to gain experience working collaboratively with team members and future friends.

I am looking to form a team of two and am searching for my next team member. Anyone who thinks they can contribute to this project, is willing to work day and night, and can learn the technology on the go is welcome.

If you have already built projects using the stacks described above, that would be a plus. Please feel free to contact me.

## Where can we contact you?

You can contact me on my Twitter and GitHub.

- Twitter: [@Prasenjeetsymon](https://twitter.com/Prasenjeetsymon)
- GitHub: [prasenjeet-symon](https://github.com/prasenjeet-symon)

## Will you split the prize?

If we win, I will split the prize equally among the team members. I believe that every team member should be credited equally, regardless of the amount or quality of work they contributed. Once someone becomes a team member, they are an equal contributor to the project and should receive equal credit.

## Why should we join you?

I believe I have the capability and skillset to successfully complete this project. By joining me as a team member, our chances of winning will increase, as it will speed up project development. However, I am not certain how much time it will take to complete the project or what unseen challenges we may face.

Joining me on this project may provide us with increased visibility among the Appwrite and Hashnode communities, which could benefit us both. Are you ready to embark on this adventure with me? Let's do it! 💪