How two apps are keeping people connected
-Our neighborhood is where we eat, sleep, play and live.
So it's only natural that residents are turning to technology to make them safer and friendlier.
Local neighborhood watch programs now have a new tool, an app designed to help prevent crime.
-You can report suspicious people, abandoned vehicles or abandoned property.
-The app isn't for emergencies, 911 remains the best way to report crimes in
progress but it does provide a direct line to law enforcement.
The app was built with 30 some things in mind first time homeowners who were comfortable with tech.
-They want an instant communications, something that would further connect the citizens to us in law enforcement.
-Technology is also connecting people who maybe strangers but they share an important bond, geography.
Next Door is yet another social network but it differs from Facebook.
It only connects you to your neighbors.
-It's really more about utility not social things.
It's not about status updates and photo-sharing.
It's about solving problems getting together with your neighbors to solve problems and those problems can be anything like I need a new dry cleaner.
I need a new plumber, I need a new electrician.
-Next Door, which launched in 2011, and has grown to nearly 20,000 neighborhoods since uses few techniques to verify a member's address.
-If they have a landline, we can do what's called a reversed directory look up
and call that landline with the special code.
If their mobile number is attached to the physical address, we can send them a text message.
-Most Next Door post fall under recommendations.
When you're looking for a local mechanic asking your LinkedIn or Facebook connections all over the world may not be helpful.
But the family living three doors down could know the perfect person.
Another popular post category: Crime and Safety, accounting for about 1/5 of all posts.
-We got an update from someone in our neighborhood that there was a woman who would broken
into a house and had taken a shotgun from this house and was out on the street waiving it around and it happened to be the same street that our babysitter takes our son out on when she's taking him for a walk.
And so that was a particularly critical used case.
-Bob Grant, a resident in San Francisco Haight-Ashbury, is grateful to Next Door for a totally different reason.
It helped him find his lost dog.
-They allowed me to send an urgent message to all of my immediate neighbors and they-- along their message with a photo of two little-- to the
19 neighborhoods around us.
-A Next Door member spotted Telulu in a park 2 miles from where she went missing.
Next Door maybe creating online communities but it's proving to have very real offline benefits.
In San Francisco, I'm Sumi Das, CNET.com for CBS News.
Up Next
What is the Fediverse?
Up Next
What is the Fediverse?
The Missing Piece to Apple's Eco-Friendly Mission
The Missing Piece to Apple's Eco-Friendly Mission
Boston Dynamics Retires Its HD Atlas Robot
Boston Dynamics Retires Its HD Atlas Robot
Apple and Disney's Unique Bond: Why Vision Pro Needs the Mouse
Apple and Disney's Unique Bond: Why Vision Pro Needs the Mouse
The Ocean Cleanup's System 03 Collects Plastic Pollution at Record Levels
The Ocean Cleanup's System 03 Collects Plastic Pollution at Record Levels
Latest iOS 18 Rumor Roundup: New Designs, AI Tricks
Latest iOS 18 Rumor Roundup: New Designs, AI Tricks
Apple to Talk AI in June: This WWDC Is a Big Deal
Apple to Talk AI in June: This WWDC Is a Big Deal
What Google Gemini AI on the iPhone Could Look Like
What Google Gemini AI on the iPhone Could Look Like
Microsoft Surface Pro 10, Surface Laptop 6 Are Here
Microsoft Surface Pro 10, Surface Laptop 6 Are Here
Everything Just Announced at Google's AI Health Event
Everything Just Announced at Google's AI Health Event
Tech Shows
Latest News All latest news
Robosen's Megatron Transformer Is Too Much Fun for an Evil Robot
Robosen's Megatron Transformer Is Too Much Fun for an Evil Robot
Apple May Give FineWoven Accessories One More Season
Apple May Give FineWoven Accessories One More Season
US vs. TikTok: What Happens Next
US vs. TikTok: What Happens Next
Battle of the Humanoid Robots: MenteeBot Is Ready
Battle of the Humanoid Robots: MenteeBot Is Ready
What to Expect at Apple's May 7 iPad Event
What to Expect at Apple's May 7 iPad Event
Did a Week With the Apple Watch Make Me Use My iPhone Less?
Did a Week With the Apple Watch Make Me Use My iPhone Less?
Most Popular All most popular
First Look at TSA's Self-Screening Tech (in VR!)
First Look at TSA's Self-Screening Tech (in VR!)
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Review: More AI at a Higher Cost
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Review: More AI at a Higher Cost
'Circle to Search' Lets Users Google From Any Screen
'Circle to Search' Lets Users Google From Any Screen
Asus Put Two 14-inch OLEDs in a Laptop, Unleashes First OLED ROG Gaming Laptop
Asus Put Two 14-inch OLEDs in a Laptop, Unleashes First OLED ROG Gaming Laptop
Samsung Galaxy Ring: First Impressions
Samsung Galaxy Ring: First Impressions
Best of Show: The Coolest Gadgets of CES 2024
Best of Show: The Coolest Gadgets of CES 2024
Latest Products All latest products
Robosen's Megatron Transformer Is Too Much Fun for an Evil Robot
Robosen's Megatron Transformer Is Too Much Fun for an Evil Robot
Battle of the Humanoid Robots: MenteeBot Is Ready
Battle of the Humanoid Robots: MenteeBot Is Ready
2025 Audi Q6, SQ6 E-Tron: Audi's Newest EV Is Its Most Compelling
2025 Audi Q6, SQ6 E-Tron: Audi's Newest EV Is Its Most Compelling
Hands-On with Ford's Free Tesla Charging Adapter
Hands-On with Ford's Free Tesla Charging Adapter
Nuro R3 is an Adorable Self-Driving Snack Bar
Nuro R3 is an Adorable Self-Driving Snack Bar
First Look: The $349 Nothing Phone 2A Aims to Brighten Your Day
First Look: The $349 Nothing Phone 2A Aims to Brighten Your Day
Latest How To All how to videos
Tips and Tricks for the AirPods Pro 2
Tips and Tricks for the AirPods Pro 2
How to Watch the Solar Eclipse Safely From Your Phone
How to Watch the Solar Eclipse Safely From Your Phone
Windows 11 Tips and Hidden Features
Windows 11 Tips and Hidden Features
Vision Pro App Walkthrough -- VisionOS 1.0.3
Vision Pro App Walkthrough -- VisionOS 1.0.3
Tips and Tricks for the Galaxy S24 Ultra
Tips and Tricks for the Galaxy S24 Ultra
TikTok Is Now on the Apple Vision Pro