Back when I moved to the neighborhood, each year or so, all dues paying members of the civic association — which was basically the whole neighborhood — received a phone book directory of everyone in the neighborhood. It included names, addresses, phone numbers and possibly how long someone has been living here. This directory dates back to the founding of the neighborhood, where updates were included in The Rancher newspaper, which was distributed monthly. I’m not sure when the last paper directory was made, but it’s been a while.
Today, the kids probably have never seen a phone book and probably never will. So for the 21st century, I’ve built a free online directory system, that is opt-in only, which will include names, phone numbers, social media accounts, and a brief bio. It’s not 100% ready to go yet, but will be in the very near future. You can pre-register now by going to roslyncountryclub.org/directory and clicking your house, fill in the form, and you will be contacted to verify, if needed. The directory will be open to anyone who is registered and verified in the neighborhood.
When active, the orange houses will be the ones with contact information.
The hope is to have this also be a portal where people can chat and organize in a more efficient manner. Nextdoor and community group chats have their place, for sure, and social media pages are good at getting some information out to the neighborhood and facilitating some engagement, but I’m sure many miss important messages in the constant stream of discussions, while the majority are not even aware of the chats or social networks. This portal will possibly help us find those who are missing out and engage with them offline.
This portal may also help facilitate a security camera network — opt in also, with probably a small monthly fee — where those who have a compatible camera installed on their property can use it to join a decentralized RCC security camera network of other cameras in the neighborhood. This is a more complicated project, but compared to the immense costs of other proposals, I think many will find this preferable.
We live in strange times, where technology has evolved rapidly, upending our society in countless ways, while providing us with new and unique opportunities…. yet we have yet to fully use its potential.
