MyTownRobbinsville app creator Mike Lawrence is working to bring the community closer together through technology.
By Meagan Douches
When longtime residents Mike and Melanie Lawrence found themselves struggling to maintain the busy schedules of their three kids, they decided that the paper calendar in their home just wasn’t cutting it. Their solution? Create an app specific to Robbinsville where they could receive updates on town events, sports leagues and school happenings directly to their phones.
MyTownRobbinsville, which launched in May, is a free app for iPhone and Android users that connects the community through news, photos, stories and a community calendar. The app is supported by the Lawrence’s newly founded technology company Zenner Media, LLC.
The idea first came into play in June 2014. Between Mike Lawrence’s work in software development and project management at a New Jersey-based telecom company, and his wife’s background as a technical recruiter, the two had a good foundation to design the app. With the idea intact, the Lawrences put a presentation together and approached the township last October.
“They were really excited by the concept, which kind of surprised us,” Mike Lawrence said. “We weren’t expecting that.”
Township officials proceeded to give feedback and contribute some of their own thoughts on what features would be most beneficial to town residents. The Lawrences also collaborated with members of the Robbinsville school board and superintendent Steven Mayer, who agreed that using the app to provide school information and updates would be beneficial.
All parties involved agreed that the primary focus of the app would be to connect the community and to keep residents informed.
“The connection point of it is a huge benefit,” Lawrence said. “And just really keeping that close-knit, small-town feel. One of the things that drew us to the town is that it was smaller, and we always wanted to keep that community feel.”
MyTownRobbinsville works to create links between local businesses and the community. The app currently features a page for exclusive coupons for Robbinsville retailers and services. To establish these partnerships, the Lawrences met with local business owners who agreed to participate and support the MyTownRobbinsville app.
“The whole thing we’re trying to do is make this have value,” Mike Lawrence said. “We really want to make sure that we focus on our local businesses and keep it Robbinsville-centric. That’s why we haven’t reached out to anybody else outside the town businesses.”
Besides providing news updates and community information, MyTownRobbinsville brings people together by acting as a platform to share photos of town events, sports games and achievements. Currently, MyTownRobbinsville includes news from the township, Robbinsville Schools and sports organizations including the Robbinsville Soccer Association, the Little League, Robbinsville Lacrosse and PAL Football.
Though the app launched in May, the Lawrences are working to get more organizations involved. Mike Lawrence says that he’s hoping to include groups like the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts as well as any other organization that wants to keep members updated.
The app pulls information directly from the township’s website and Facebook feed, as well as emails the Lawrences receives.
“Apps are always contending for the same space on your phone,” he said. “So we’d like to make sure that everything goes in one place.”
Users do not have to login or register to take advantage of its services. Where Facebook and Twitter use personal information for company profits, MyTownRobbinsville does not keep track of its users or store private information. The information that the app acquires is public, so there is no need to sign in to access it.
Lawrence says that in certain ways the app has made his life easier. They’ve used the app for everything from looking up their children’s summer reading lists for school during an impromptu bookstore visit to getting last-minute schedule changes to the Robbinsville Summer Concert Series.
“My wife and I talk about it, we feel a little more connected because we’re finding out more information,” Mike Lawrence said.
The next step is to push the app into “phase two” of development which will involve hiring a professional developer. The Lawrences are considering adding things like push notifications, a business directory, a job board and a local real estate section. They are also very interested in creating a community chat forum where Robbinsville residents can interact.
MyTownRobbinsville is currently supported by iPhone and Android smartphones, but the Lawrences plan to establish the app for Windows and Blackberry phones in the near future.
As they move on to the next phase of development, the Lawrence’s plan to continue consulting the township and the school board for feedback.
“They’ve been so supportive,” Mike Lawrence said. “We’re going to bring them along every step of the way because we want to make sure this is something they find useful.”
While the Lawrences have plans to continue developing the app, their ultimate goal is to launch similar apps in other New Jersey towns.
“Really, we would like it to be a prototype for what we’d like to do in other towns,” Lawrence said. “We don’t really want to charge anybody to keep it up, but we would like to use it as a test bed to say, ‘This worked in Robbinsville, it can work in other towns.’ That’s when we would consider things like advertising and generating revenue, but really that’s not our goal here. It has value to the people we know.”
For more information, go online to mytownrobbinsville.com.
,
