Introduction
Hi, it’s been great to meet you all this summer.
I’m Sandra Taskovic, an Honors Computing Science student at the University of Alberta in Canada. This summer, I’m excited to participate in a 90-hour Google Summer of Code project, where I will develop a Social Media Archive Explorer for the Freifunk community.
Project Need
Freifunk has accumulated valuable content across its past social media accounts. This project aims to harness that existing data and re-display it in a new, user-friendly static site. This Social Media Archive Explorer will give the Freifunk community greater independence and long-term control over its outreach history while staying aligned with its commitment to open-source tools.
The archive also aims to engage the community in celebrating its achievements. I’ll design a Freifunk-inspired frontend to ensure the experience is functional and reflective of the community’s spirit, further supporting its ongoing growth and outreach.
Technologies
- Programming Languages: TypeScript / JavaScript
- Static Site Generator (SSG): Astro
- Data Source: Archived SQLite3 database of past X (formerly Twitter) posts
- Data Extraction: Custom script developed to parse and extract relevant content for the site
- Frontend: Additional UI libraries and design packages will be used to create a Freifunk-inspired theme and aesthetic
Plan of Action
- Select the Static Site Generator – Finalize the choice of SSG—currently, Astro is the preferred option.
- SSG Setup – Set up the SSG and ensure all related technologies are working. Begin early discussions around prototypes to determine which data fields need to be extracted from the database.
- Develop Data Extraction Tool – Build a script to extract relevant fields from the archived SQLite3 database and normalize them into a unified schema.
- Create Static Site Mockup – Generate an initial static website using the parsed and structured data.
- Implement Client-Side Search – Add client-side search functionality by preprocessing and indexing data during the build process.
- Test, Optimize, and Ensure Scalability – Conduct thorough testing and optimization. Ensure the site remains stable and the search remains accurate, even when additional archives are added.
- Design and Implement Theming Support – Build an engaging, Freifunk-inspired frontend and implement support for customizable themes via configuration files.
- Documentation and Deployment – Write comprehensive documentation and deploy the final static site.
Conclusion
I’m genuinely excited to bring this project to life during GSoC 2025. I look forward to sharing my progress and learnings throughout the summer. A heartfelt thank you to Andreas Bräu, who will be mentoring me on this journey—I’m grateful for the support and guidance ahead.