It's a fundamental truth: humans need to feel connected with those around them.

We want to know that our neighbors are looking out for us, that we can turn to them in a time of need. We treasure the chance to share a meal or an after-work beer with those friendly people who live down the street. These things make us feel part of a larger community. They let us know we're not alone.

In today's go-go world, building that sense of a community can be a challenge. The demands of the modern workplace and of raising children often leave precious little time for communicating with and getting to know our neighbors. And I mean actual neighbors, not Facebook friends.

Fortunately, technology is helping us build and maintain those bonds.

The Rise of Nextdoor
Perhaps the best-known example of how technology can strengthen a sense of community between neighbors is Nextdoor.

Nextdoor enables neighborhoods and towns to build private, secure platforms for communication among neighbors. According to the company, it was founded "on the idea that the neighborhood is one of the most important and useful communities in a person's life. Nextdoor's mission is to use technology to help neighbors build stronger and safer neighborhoods."

Accessible by an easy-to-use mobile app, homeowners can do any variety of things, such as ask his or her neighbors for a lawn-service recommendation, organize a block party or neighborhood cookout, ask neighbors to keep an eye out for a missing pet, or pass along word of a car break-in in the area. The list goes on and on.

I have a personal favorite success story of how Nextdoor helps neighbors be . . . well, neighborly.  When recently enjoying our back yard, the cutest little blue parakeet appeared from nowhere and landed on my husband’s shoulder. He was quite obviously domesticated and lost, so we went straight to the Nextdoor app to post a photo – and the first item I saw was “help, lost parakeet” with a picture of the little guy who had flown the coop straight to us. After exchanging messages, the happy owner picked him up within the hour.

The point is to give neighbors an easy way to communicate about whatever it is they want to talk about and to get to know each other better; or even rescue a lost pet. In so doing, the technology helps to build that sense of community, helps to establish friendships and provides a safe sounding board in a supportive that we all crave.

Helping Apartment Residents Bond
Nextdoor provides a good road map for apartment operators to use to help their renters build a sense of community at all times.

Customized mobile apps for individual properties are a great way to help residents get to know each other. Each apartment community is unique, and the residents who share it have a chance to share a close bond, one they might not be able to develop if they're left to use the Nextdoor site for the broader neighborhood.

Mobile apps can be designed so that they have bulletin boards that allow residents to communicate with one another. Much like Nextdoor, these bulletin boards enable residents to plan social outings, give each other a heads up about bad traffic in the surrounding area, and ask for restaurant and doctor recommendations; and yes, look for a lost pet. Again, the list of ways in which they can help and support each other with such a tool is basically endless.

When residents are able to connect with each other so easily, a deep sense of connection can develop, one that gives rise to real resident satisfaction and encourages renewals. In a recent apartment community survey, Witten Advisors found that almost half of residents who friended seven people at a community were more likely to renew their lease.

Community During Crisis
Hurricane Florence. She significantly impacted our friends in Carolinas and her devastation continues as cities and towns deal with raising flood waters. A quick Google search of Nextdoor and Hurricane Florence yields hundreds of results showing how neighbors, city officials, as well as local police and fire departments were able to communicate before, during and now after the massive storm – all in an effort to keep each other safe.

Everything from weather updates to evacuation routes and flood warnings were sent out to large groups in one single message. People were able to quickly and easily offer support to each other, potentially helping to save lives. Just another powerful example of how technology can further create a sense of community and bring people together in a time of crisis.

So the question becomes, how could this technology further improve our abilities to communicate with our residents in a time of crisis? Not just hurricanes but fires or tornadoes or simply other events that can impact an entire apartment community. 

The world around us is changing rapidly. But the need for connection and a sense of community remains. Find the technology that enables your residents to forge and maintain those important bonds.

This blog is part of a series on technology written on behalf of one of my clients, Mobile Doorman.