Ping 📍 - Make meeting people easy

Hi! 👋

Ping is a real-time, location-based platform that helps you find people nearby to do things with.

Don’t want to check out a newly opened restaurant alone? 🍜
Need a gym buddy to stay motivated? 💪
Looking for someone to play tennis or study with — right now? 🎾📚

Ping helps you connect with people around you who are available and interested in the same activities.

This project was created for the 2026 MCIT Hackathon, with the goal of fostering community engagement and spontaneous, low-pressure social interaction.

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Why Ping?

Do you… 🤔

• Feel lonely but don’t know how to meet new people naturally 😶‍🌫️
• Have flexible or unpredictable schedules that make planning ahead difficult ⏰
• Have hobbies your existing friends aren’t interested in 🎨
• Want companions for everyday activities 🍽️
• Look for motivation or accountability partners for productive activities 🎯

Ping makes it easy to find people nearby who are available at the same time and interested in similar activities. By focusing on recent, nearby events, users can join spontaneous activities without extensive planning or long-distance travel. Users can also create short-term events for others to join. 🚀

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Key Features

• 🗺️ Map-based event discovery
  Uses the Google Maps API to show nearby activities based on the user’s current location, making it easy to find events without traveling far.

• ⚡ Real-time event postings
  Events are active for a limited time, encouraging spontaneous and real-time interactions rather than long-term scheduling.

• 🎛️ Customizable preferences
  Users can filter events by distance and activity type to focus only on what matches their interests and availability.

• 😊 User-friendly interface
  A clean and straightforward design reduces friction and makes discovering and joining activities stress-free.

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🌐 How It Works

1. Open the website
2. Create an account
3. Fill out basic profile information and complete student verification
4. Browse nearby events and apply filters based on interests and distance
5. Join, save, or comment on events
6. Create your own events for others to join

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💻 Try it out

Environment Setup

1. Create a .env file in ./backend directory, and put in the following config ....

2. Create a .env file in ./frontend directory, and put in the following config ....

3. Navigate to ./backend

4. run npm install

5. run npm run dev, backend server will start running on port 5001

6. Navigate to ./frontend

7. run npm install

8. run npm run dev, frontend server will start running on localhost:5173

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🛠️ Technologies Used

• Frontend: React, React Router, Vite, Tailwind CSS, Post CSS
• Frontend tooling/tests ESLint, Vitest, Testing Libeary, JSDOM
• Backend: Node.js, Express
• Database: MongoDB Atlas (Mongoose)
• Maps & Location: Google Maps Javascript API
• Authentication: Passport.js with Google OAuth 2.0 , express session, connect-mongo

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🚧 Future Plans

• ⏱️ Availability Status Matching Let users share when they’re free (now / in 30 min / tonight) so events and recommendations prioritize real-time availability overlap, improving match success without adding social pressure.

• 🔔 Real-Time Smart Notifications Push instant alerts for comments on your posts and for nearby recommended events, matched intelligently based on location and interest tags.

• 👥 Interest-based communities
  Introduce interest groups for non-time-sensitive posts such as discussions, ticket exchanges, or questions, potentially in collaboration with on-campus clubs.

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Demo

Links coming soon.