Future of Next Door Agency and Highlands County Road & Bridge
An up-and-coming social media platform is Next Door Agency. Nex Door Agency is a social networking app that connects communities with public agencies. With this app, the agency is able to share important information and engage with the community. The goal of this app is to make and keep the community informed about what is taking place in the county. This app is starting to gain awareness around the country and is being implemented in thousands of communities. Plus this app is convenient to use. The app is simply downloaded onto your phone and then connects with the neighborhood that you are in. This is a fast and simple way to connect with any public agency to get information quickly.
Highlands County Road and Bridge would be a great company to utilize this app. On a daily basis construction on roads is taking place throughout the county. Often residents are unaware of this construction and are then faced with it when turning onto that specific roadway. Yet with the Next Door Agency app, this company can make the residents aware of what is taking place.
Why Next Door Agency?
With Next Door Agency HCRB can utilize it for many different aspects that happen on a daily basis. Those being:
- Construction on roads
- Closed roads
- Flooded roads
- Rerouting
With the use of this app, the community will be able to connect with HCRB and let them know if something is taking place on a certain road. For example, when a bad rainstorm comes through, residents will be able to report to HCRB that this specific road is flooded. From there HCRB will be able to perform the actions that are needed. HCRB should use this app because “Next Door Agency recognizes that thriving communities are made up of the neighbors and organizations that build stronger, more vibrant, and resilient neighborhoods and for Public agencies to share critical, real-time information directly at the neighborhood level” (Next Door Agency, 2021). With the help of this app, HCRB and the community will be able to communicate well and all residents can be informed of the latest news.
As for Highlands County, year after year, the county is always faced with possible hurricanes, as the county is in central Florida. Although the county may not face the hurricane directly, many times that county has been hard. With the Next Door Agency app, the HCRB will be able to communicate on different roads that are closed for flooding or powerlines are down. Residents will be able to report on this as well. “When a disaster strikes, it’s often your neighbors who serve as your first line of defense. A recent study in the International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction following Hurricane Harvey found that users of Nextdoor were 54% more likely to indicate their neighbors were helpful compared to those who had never used the platform” (Next Door Agency, 2021). Besides HCRB positing about road closures, there are other ways for the company to connect on other topics.
it is important for HCRB to make postings that are relevant, get the message out and follow social media guidelines when posting. Next Door Agency provides a guide to help public agencies do this well. “Choose topics that are local, relevant, and timely. Your residents joined Nextdoor because they’re interested in interacting with their neighbors and accessing information that is relevant to their neighborhoods” (Next Door Agency, 2021). By keeping posts relevant that connect with the community, then residents will not look over posts and will also keep an eye out for when posts are made.
The Next Door Agency app will be a great addition to Highlands County Road and Bridge. To connect and keep residents informed all in one place. It is important for communities to stay connected every day and in times of need. The Next Door Agency will provide benefits to Highlands County residents.
References:
Next Door. (2017, July 12). 8 tips for creating an engaging Nextdoor Post. Nextdoor Blog. Retrieved December 3, 2021, from https://blog.nextdoor.com/2017/07/12/agency-resource-post/.
Next Door. (2021). About. About Nextdoor. Retrieved December 3, 2021, from https://about.nextdoor.com/.
Next Door. (2021, August 31). How to stay connected and help your neighbors during hurricane season. Nextdoor Blog. Retrieved December 3, 2021, from https://blog.nextdoor.com/2021/08/30/how-to-stay-connected-and-help-your-neighbors-during-hurricane-season/.
#UFCJCOnline
