title: Friend Based System in Node.js
body: <p>So I currently have a real-time chat application up and running with node and <code>socket.io</code>. What I would like to do from here is let users create an account and search for other users based on their usernames. Then, they can add them as a friend via request to start chatting.</p>
  
  <p>I have looked around the web to try and answer this question, but cannot find any solid starting point. I am brand new to <code>node.js</code>, <code>express</code>, and <code>socket.io</code>, and would love some help with this issue.</p>
  
  <p>If you could point me in the right direction as to how I can create a friend based system using node, that would be amazing. Thanks!</p>