Bloc

Bloc is a campus-focused group chat app designed for UMass Amherst students. The purpose of the app is to help students find and connect with others who share similar interests, whether that is studying, playing sports, attending events, or just meeting new people. Instead of relying only on private group chats, social media, or word of mouth, Bloc gives students one place to create, discover, and join public groups and communicate directly in real time.

Project Overview

The app is meant to make campus coordination easier and more accessible. Students can browse groups, join conversations, and organize activities without needing to already know the people involved. While the first version is focused on UMass Amherst, the idea could later expand into a broader location-based platform for places like Amherst, Boston, or Massachusetts in general, where users can post and discover activities or “sidequests” on a map.

Features UMass student login and authentication Public group creation Public group browsing and joining Real-time group messaging Search and filtering for groups Location-based discovery of groups or activities through a map view Ability to post local “sidequests” for nearby users to discover and join