Drift

Drift Webpage

Inspiration

We live in a world where people, relationships, and communities are constantly diverging. We feel compelled to move rapidly because we are afraid of falling behind. What if we could rediscover the value in lost connections; the people who shaped us into who we are today?

Think about your relationships with family, friends, and loved ones: What was left unsaid? How has time changed how you perceive past interactions? How have people changed? How have you changed?

Whereas a letter would take at least a few days to arrive, today, a text can be sent in a few seconds. Technology has made connections faster and more accessible. However, the casual nature of texts has also caused these connections to be more shallow. People drift apart; what was once familiar becomes distant.

What is Drift

We hope to shift your drift - to drift towards one another instead of away. We have two goals: 1) self-reflection 2) reconnection

Think of Drift through an analogy of a message in a bottle. It simulates the reflective nature of sending a letter, or setting a message adrift at sea. Whether we are sending a message to an old friend or a stranger, it allows us to take their time and feel at ease to speak our mind.

By practicing mindfulness amidst the overstimulation of instant messages and text notifications, we will also have the capacity to connect more authentically with those around us.

How it works

Users first make a custom profile where they can enter details including their name, tag, and basic biographical information. Going to the Draft page, users can draft a message to send to someone they hope to reconnect with. They can choose to save these messages as a draft, and when ready, can send the message adrift. Users can then access their mailbox to find all messages sent to them, which will continually update.

How we built it

We used React.js to build Drift and deployed it using Netlify.

Challenges we faced

Being relatively new to React.js, we faced some challenges in using the technology, such as updating the different pages using User-inputted text.

What's next for Drift

We hope to create a Drift backend in order to save a database of user messages. We also hope to make Drift simulate the "message in a bottle" analogy more closely, so users can receive anonymous messages from other users in a randomized process.