A New Resident Who Could Cause Big Problems (Or Help Buildings Run Smoothly)

On Sunday, the New York Times ran an article about neighborhood-based social networking Web sites and their impact on the rental/multifamily community.

This isn't a new phenomenon--shortly after moving into my condo building nearly three years ago, I was told we had a message board-based Web site for unit owners, which I promptly joined--but the article got me wondering about the long-term success and potential impact of such sites.

One of the online communities listed in the article--LifeAt--currently only has five Chicago properties on its roster. I don't live in any of them.

So I checked out another one of the sites mentioned in the article, MeetTheNeighbors.org. My area has added a number of large rental and condo buildings to its roster in the past two years, but I was surprised to find my neighborhood was not only low on members--it didn't exist.

So I went through the site's brief registration process, created an entry for the area and waited. Surely, I thought, two days after a mention in a major newspaper, people would--as I had--be flocking to the site to check it out. Right?

Not really. As of today, the neighborhood has just one registered member--me.

In fact, the only residents I could find anywhere close didn't seem to be interacting as much for general neighborhood betterment but for other purposes. Two posted what looked like online dating ads. One woman's profile contained little information except for a plug for her sister's dogwalking service.

Where were the events I was told the site listed? Or the community action it was supposed to incite?

At the end of the day, these sites will live or die based on resident involvement--and it appears no one in my community is aware they even exist.

Which, for our building may be a relief. One thing that struck me as particularly odd about the Times article was how upbeat it was: Most of the sources cited social networking sites' ability to help managers address problems early and give residents a way to offer painter and insurance recommendations.

But surely (which the article does touch on briefly) many are using such sites as a way to semi-anonymously complain? Or could?

Remember that Web site that I accessed after moving in--the one where I posed questions about our satellite service and others questioned building rules? It disappeared suddenly and has yet to be replaced with anything similar.

Maybe the site was phased out--or maybe it just got too critical for comfort. Who knows? But it sure would be useful now, as the building gears up for a major hallway renovation. They've laid out samples in the lobby and on one floor of the building and distributed paper ballots. I can't help but think a Web site would make the process so much easier.

It would, of course, also give people a chance to complain about the fact the hallways have been so outdated for so long (the '80s were a great decade, but I really don't need them to start right outside my doorframe) and ponder what this is going to cost us. And that's a real risk property managers should consider.

Which brings me to my big question about building-based networking sites: It's clear from the Times article that if enough join one, residents love building- and community-based social networking sites.

But do property managers feel that they're a good idea, or a bad one? What do you think?

Comments

[Brent Williams]

I also read the NY Times article, and although I'm biased, it was good to see more press on the subject. Let me throw in my two cents. Social networking-based resident portals can be extremely positive as let properties better monitor, guide, and react to resident needs and concerns. I think these benefits are what the article was focusing on, because social networking essentially provides very elaborate, open, and honest feedback for your community. Think about all those residents who don't bother filling out the resident survey you give them! Quality companies will be able to use this information to adjust their offerings to fit their residents needs, react to specific resident concerns, and ultimately have much higher resident retention for it. Companies outside our industry are beginning to do this in different ways with surprising success.

Conversely, communities don't have the luxury of just ignoring this type of interaction - as the article notes, residents are more commonly creating their own forums for their communities. If a community isn't proactive in leading this, they could be cut out of the conversation and moderating of the forum, which no community would appreciate! In other words, it's better the residents come to discuss under your rules rather than having residents create something on their own where you have no influence.

[Brent Williams]

One more thing I forgot to touch on was the level of activity of the community. For those who took a look at one of the forums in the article (http://www.beaconowners.com/Rialto-Capitol/index.php), they have approximately 2,000 posts! The key is making sure that the residents are aware of it and that they are exposed to it several times. No matter how great the system is, if they don't know it exists, it will be impossible to use it. Launching the portal should be seen through the eyes of advertising, which understands that you don't get all your customers through one showing of an ad. You get a certain number of early adopters, but your residents will slowly adopt the more times they hear about it or see it.

[MUN]

I do believe the owners/landlords will begin adding online community features as part of their overall amenity package. But, the bulk of apartment owners are small families and the like, hardly innovative management leaders.

Like the article said, managment needs to market, not only condone, the online community. In fact, if managers can couple the online community with additional features, like links to pay rent, browse other available units, reserve club rooms, check for packages, etc. it would gain even more traction. Imagine, a 300 unit building can have roughly 450 residents, clicking through the online community website at least once a day, if not every day to check packages. Is that not a captured market? I do concede 450 residents isn't that much in the larger scheme of things.

Finally, there's already a website where most renters go to check out apartment gossip - www.apartmentratings.com. But much of that is just resident complaints. Could have been much more.

[Jared]

Thanks for writing about MeetTheNeighbors.org. As you stated, the success or failure of any resident online community effort will be on the shoulders of the residents. MeetTheNeighbors is just a tool for you to "do it yourself." Depending on where you live, there may not be other MTN locations nearby. It all depends on the person starting the particular location, and how much effort he or she is willing to put into getting the word out, and getting the ball rollings. Thanks!