Community Computing; Neighbourhood Web Portal for Residential Estates

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify, using a case study, the key components required for the development and deployment of a web portal for use by residential estates communities in urban centres in Kenya. This was aimed at providing a web based platform for the social interaction amongst estate residents. The study was conducted by choosing as a case study population, members of the entire block of an apartment, to whom a questionnaire was administered. The methodology chosen incorporated the insider (emic) view of the researcher as a resident of the block. A second questionnaire was subsequently administered to a wider sample set consisting of members across various estates within the city of Nairobi that served to corroborate the results of the first questionnaire. The questionnaires were structured so as to identify the key features and usage of existing residential estate community web portal, if any, and highlight the most common features desired to be incorporated in the development of such a community website. The. results of the questionnaire were analyzed using SPSS software. According to the study, 92% of the respondents thought that the availability of a community web portal is important for the social interaction of the estate residents. Only 9% of the respondents were aware of the presence of any community website for their estate. The study also showed that 68% of the respondents access the Internet via use of mobile phones. The key features preferred on a community web portal were identified as the support for personal information sharing (e.g. Photos, personal profile), discussions and voting on issues of common interest, access to authorized members only and management of common social amenities such as garbage collection. A prototype web portal titled "MyNeiba" that incorporated some of the features highlighted was developed and tested. The research recommends popularizing existing residential community web portals in a bid to increase their use for social interaction. It also highlights an opportunity for further research in ways of optimizing such web portals with a view to improving their access via mobile phones thereby increasing their usage.