Forem: Raven

The Internet Shows What We Do. It Hides How We Feel.

Raven — Sun, 22 Feb 2026 11:17:03 +0000

The internet is incredible at visibility.

It shows what people are building.

Shipping.

Launching.

Scaling.

Winning.

Polished screenshots.

Milestone posts.

“Big news 🚀” updates.

Perfectly framed productivity.

But it hides something fundamental.

How people actually feel.

Behind the commits and announcements:

Anxiety
Loneliness
Burnout
Quiet doubt
Silence

We scroll through highlight reels while quietly falling apart.

As builders, we’ve optimized for performance, metrics, growth, engagement.

But we haven’t optimized for emotional honesty.

So I built something different.

Introducing BULONG

BULONG is a live, anonymous emotional map.

It lets people drop a whisper about how they actually feel — right where they are, or tied to a memory of a place.

No usernames.

No followers.

No profiles.

No metrics.

No performance.

Just raw emotion, placed on a map.

When you open it, you don’t see status.

You see honesty.

A stranger in your city who feels overwhelmed.

Someone three blocks away who can’t sleep.

Someone across the world whispering, “I’m tired too.”

“Bulong” means whisper.

And the quiet thoughts we hide are often the loudest ones inside us.

Why Build This?

Because the current internet rewards visibility without vulnerability.

We measure everything:

Followers
Likes
Shares
Views
Retention

But there’s no place designed purely for emotional presence.

Not therapy.

Not advice.

Not fixing.

Just visibility.

And sometimes the most powerful thing a person can see is this:

You’re not the only one feeling it.

This Isn’t a Mental Health App

It’s not diagnosing.

It’s not coaching.

It’s not moderating your growth journey.

It’s emotional visibility at scale.

A quiet layer of the internet where people can exist without performing.

Because sometimes you don’t need answers.

You just need to know someone else is carrying something too.

A Question

If this existed during your lowest moment…

Would you have opened it?

Explore BULONG

Explore it here: https://bulong-map.vercel.app

I Built My Own Social Media Platform (And Turned It Into a Game)

Raven — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 15:25:36 +0000

Most social platforms reward noise.

The loudest voices win. The fastest takes spread. The algorithm decides what matters.

So I decided to build something different.

I created Hypenote — a community-driven discussion platform where influence isn’t random. It’s earned.

👉 Check it out here: https://www.hypenote.online/

The Core Idea: Aura

On Hypenote, every user has something called Aura.

Upvotes increase your Aura

Downvotes decrease it

High Aura increases your influence

Low Aura limits your power

Aura isn’t just a vanity number. It changes how the system treats you.

High Aura users can:

Pin posts

Create “circles” (private communities)

Have stronger voting weight

Unlock cosmetic badges

Low Aura users:

Have post cooldowns

Carry less voting weight

Your influence is directly tied to how the community values your contributions.

It’s not just content. It’s reputation.

Making It Feel Like a Game

I didn’t want another static discussion board. I wanted something dynamic.

So I added mechanics inspired by game systems:

Aura decay over time (stay active or lose influence)

Streak bonuses for consistent participation

Daily limited posts

Early community slot limits

Anonymous confessions

Unfiltered controversial takes

Scarcity creates behavior.
Reputation creates tension.
Influence creates competition.

Now it’s not just posting. It’s strategy.

Why I Built It

I’ve always been fascinated by how platforms shape behavior.

Reddit has karma.
Twitter has followers.
Stack Overflow has reputation.

But what if influence wasn’t just social proof — what if it actively changed your capabilities?

Hypenote is an experiment in that idea.

Can you design a platform where reputation actually matters?

Can you create a system that rewards quality over noise?

I don’t know yet.

That’s the fun part.

What I Learned Building It

Gamification changes everything.

Scarcity drives engagement.

Moderation isn’t optional — it’s survival.

Social systems are psychology engines disguised as apps.

Building a social platform forces you to think about behavior, incentives, and abuse patterns. You’re not just writing code — you’re designing human interaction.

What’s Next

Right now, Hypenote is focused on:

Core posting and threaded discussions

Aura mechanics

Basic moderation and rate limiting

Dark theme and responsive UI

Next steps:

Smarter trending algorithms

Improved moderation tooling

Expanding the “circle” system

Refining Aura weight logic

This is still early. It’s an evolving system.

But building your own social media platform from scratch?
That changes how you see the internet.

Hypenote is live, but it’s actively being improved.

You might encounter small bugs, UI inconsistencies, or experimental mechanics while I continue upgrading and refining the system. That’s part of building in public.

Feedback is welcome. Iteration is constant.

If nothing else, I learned one thing:

Platforms don’t just host conversations.
They shape them.

And if you can shape behavior, you’re not building an app.
You’re building a system.

I Built an AI Portfolio You Can Actually Talk To

Raven — Thu, 08 May 2025 14:30:44 +0000

🚀 Just launched my AI-Powered Developer Portfolio — meet my AI Assistant, your virtual guide through my projects and skills. 🤖💬

Imagine having an assistant that can walk you through all my latest work, explain my tech stack, and even chat with you like it’s me. That’s what this portfolio does — and more.

Here’s how it works

GitHub REST API – Pulls live data from my GitHub to keep track of my latest commits, projects, and contributions.
Pollinations AI API – The magic behind the assistant. It processes the GitHub data and answers questions like it’s me, in a conversational way.
Real-time Q&A – Want to know about my latest project, tech choices, or past work? Ask the AI, and it responds like an assistant who knows everything about me (and my code).

It’s like having me as an assistant — but smarter, faster, and available 24/7. No need to dig through a static portfolio or outdated resume. Just ask, and the AI delivers. 💡

Check out my AI Portfolio here
👉 https://ravsalt.github.io/ai-portfolio/

Explore the code on GitHub
📦 https://github.com/Ravsalt/ai-portfolio
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Why Did I Build This?

AI Meets Productivity: I wanted a portfolio that’s more than just a digital CV. It’s a real-time assistant that keeps track of my projects, answers questions, and interacts as if I were right there with you.
Always Up-to-Date: No more worrying about outdated info. The assistant always knows what I'm working on and is synced with my live GitHub activity.
Open Source & Customizable: This isn’t a one-off project. Feel free to fork it, remix it, and adapt it to create your own
AI assistant-powered portfolio.
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💬 I’d Love Your Feedback, Ideas, or Contributions!
If you’re curious or want to suggest ways to make it better, hit me up! Fork the repo, improve the AI, or use it as a base to build your own AI assistant portfolio.‎ ‎ ‎
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