Echo Socials
AI-powered microblogging platform with a Browse-First architecture.
Overview
An AI-powered microblogging platform where visitors see content before signing up, with Gemini-assisted post composition once they do.
Why I built it
Most social apps gate content behind a signup wall, which kills casual discovery. Built a "Browse-First" architecture instead: content is visible immediately, and account creation is only asked for at the point of actually posting or interacting.
Architecture
MERN stack (MongoDB, Express, React, Node.js), JWT authentication hydrated via a dedicated /me endpoint rather than reading tokens directly out of local storage, and Gemini-assisted post composition.
Challenges
Iterated the frontend architecture repeatedly (mobile navigation, a global theme system, dark mode) as real usage patterns emerged, and reworked JWT hydration to avoid trusting client-stored tokens directly; the /me endpoint is the single source of truth for auth state on load.
Outcome
Live, with a Browse-First feed, working auth, and Gemini-assisted posting.