How Sabbir went viral by making a web app with AI

Which of the 64 districts of Bangladesh have you visited, it can be seen on the map with one click. You can also download that map with your name. Again, if you select four or five districts, artificial intelligence (AI) can arrange the entire travel plan—where to go first, where to stay, how to go, how much will be the possible cost, all these will be known. Contains information about more than 240 places of interest in 64 districts of Bangladesh. There are also world maps, quizzes and interactive games.

Md. has recently come into discussion on social media by creating such a web app. Sabbir Hossain. He was a student of the 2017-18 academic year of the Economics Department of Chittagong University. Sabbir currently works in software design.

Sabbir has been working with artificial intelligence, mobile app and software design for over six years. He started making the idea a reality by using his professional experience. Initially the web app was purely for personal use. Later on September 27, the first map feature was released on social media.

Sabbir's 'Unseen Bangladesh' web app started out of his own need. Sabbir likes to travel. He first created a map of Bangladesh using AI out of his own curiosity. He tried to show the districts he visited separately on the map. But it was just a picture of a map. If a new district was introduced, the map had to be changed from scratch.

Sabbir said, 'I thought, if the matter can be done in such a way, if someone selects a new district for travel, it will be automatically connected with the previous district and a new map will be created. Then it will save time. This web app basically started from that idea.

Sabbir has been working with artificial intelligence, mobile app and software design for over six years. He started making the idea a reality by using his professional experience. Initially the web app was purely for personal use. Later on September 27, the first map feature was released on social media. The first post didn't get much response.

Later, while working with the map, the idea grew larger. Sabbir thought of working with tourism in Bangladesh. He feels that apart from well-known places like Cox's Bazar, Rangamati or Bandarban, there are many smaller and lesser-known places in the country, which not many people know about. If they are also available in one place, travel will be easier.

From that thought, Sabbir added the 'where to go' option. Various well-known and lesser-known sightseeing places of 64 districts of Bangladesh are added there with pictures and information. He tried to provide information on where to go, how to go, where to stay, the possible cost, how much the car rental would be. Information on where the network is, whether there is parking or public toilet facilities, is also added.

Then 'Trip Planner' was added. Sabbir added this benefit from his own travel experience. He said, 'I often visit three-four districts at once. So a user will go to which district first, which district will go later—there is an opportunity to create a customized trip plan.'

Then the web app added world maps, quizzes and map-based mini games. Users can participate in quizzes and create photocards with scores. It can be shared with friends as well as invite others to play. The web app is being used in both languages ​​– Bengali and English.

After adding these features, Sabbir posted on Facebook for the second time last Saturday. After that the post went viral. People started creating their own travel maps and sharing them on social media.

According to information provided by Sabbir, the web app has received 2.4 million visits in the last seven days. Among them, the number of unique visitors is 19 lakh 80 thousand. According to the live data of the website, so far 13 lakh 16 thousand 803 people have created the map of Bangladesh and 45 thousand 538 people have created the world map. This number is constantly increasing.

There is no big group behind this work of Sabbir. He is developing the web app alone from the beginning till now. Used AI tool 'Clod Code' to generate the code. Despite going viral, Sabbir is not very interested in advertising on the website. Currently there is a brand collaboration with travel based organization Go-Zayan. The company's services are linked with the trip plan.

Sabbir said this web app is not his main source of income. He works as a software designer. Also works as a consultant with Lithuanian company Brevan. Besides, he has his own agency 'Design Mingle'. Due to these works, he wants to keep the web app running completely free of cost and without ads.

Sabbir plans to add more facilities to 'Unseen Bangladesh' in the future. In this he is working on 'travel personality'. A travel personality card will be created based on the user's travel habits and preferences. There will also be various achievement badges. Anyone who travels to 64 districts will get a special badge. If you travel to more than one district of a certain region, you will get a separate recognition.

Sabbir was also involved in sports while studying in the university. Played as a fast bowler in the original XI of the divisional cricket team. He was also a founding member of Chittagong University Research Society. His home is in Noakhali district. However, he lives in Chittagong city with his family.

Sabbir started working in the IT sector while studying in the university. His journey started around 2020 when he was in his third year. Before completing his university studies in early 2022, he got an opportunity to work from home in an American company. He continued to advance his career along with his studies. He developed his career by utilizing the technical skills acquired outside of his studies in the department.

Talking about his own experience, Sabbir said, "University certificate is not very useful for me. Along with studies, it is important to learn new skills in technology and artificial intelligence. Instead of just chasing jobs, we should use AI and automation to solve real problems and try to earn money with those skills.'

Addressing the youth, Sabbir said, 'AI should be used as a job skill rather than just a tool for making pictures or writing. Instead of just chasing tuitions, one should acquire skills and put those skills to use. In addition to earning income, one can create a good identity of one's work.