Why did we build Totem? What problem are we solving?
We built Totem because we saw the need for a social media platform that allows users to anonymously poll the opinions of strangers instantly. Can’t decide what pair of shoes to buy? Or, do you want some feedback on a poem you wrote? Totem has your back. Totem gives users honest, timely feedback data that users can visualize in the browser to get new insight on a decision that they are trying to make, or an idea you that they have. The possibilities are endless.
How we built it
Front End: Semantic CSS Framework and Javascript Backend: Used Node JS for the backend with Database: MongoDB Authentication: Handled by Firebase Website - hosted on: Heroku Database - hosted on: MLabs
Challenges we ran into
Working together as a team and keeping up to date with different components of the project/ pushing and pulling lots of code asynchronously
Accomplishments that we're proud of
We were able to realize our vision
What we learned
Keeping track of who is pushing/pulling and when is very important to keep things from breaking
What's next for Totem Poll
How we will make money: Initially there will be no adds to attract new users. Once we have developed a sizable user base, we will begin to roll out ads and gauge response and move forward accordingly
Companies can pay to test adds on our platform to see if they will be successful or not before paying a lot of money to host it on a larger platform.
Another way we plan to monetize Totem is with data licensing by allowing companies to mine our data and gather user sentiment data about certain topics
Adding Machine Learning Functionality based on what users like to view: The site is seamless in the way that it allows users to decide for themselves what kind of content they can see Users engage with posts that they are interested in, and our machine learning algorithm will prioritize similar posts
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