Nahant introduces smartphone notification system to keep residents informed

NAHANT — Officials have introduced a new way to keep Nahant residents informed using a simple smartphone app. 

Called MyCityPocket, Town Administrator Antonio Barletta said the app, which the town began using earlier this month, is an efficient tool that allows officials to send important messages to residents quickly through their mobile phones. 

“Not everyone has social media, not everyone visits the town website, not everybody has a home phone anymore, but mostly everybody has a smartphone, so to be able to utilize an app that, if everybody signed up for it, we could capture a wide range of residents in town to get information out to, whether it’s an emergency or just general info, that’s a plus,” Barletta said. 

Once downloaded, users can follow prompted steps to pick a language and search for Nahant as their community in order to get messages and important updates from the town as they’re posted. 

Nahant already has several ways of dispensing information to residents, including through its website, social media pages, local TV channel, and “code red” system, which was described by Barletta as “essentially a reverse 911,” where messages are fed through a system that then calls each resident individually. 

However, Barletta said the new MyCityPocket app is meant to mimic digital message boards, much like the one often placed by the town on the inbound side of the Nahant causeway. 

“This system looks just like a digital message board that you would see on the side of the road while driving in your car. When we put information on it, the settings can be adjusted to give you notifications,” he said. “Anytime there’s information we want to get out to the public, we can include this app and it pops up on people’s smartphones.”

The app is free to download and is available on Apple and Google Play. 

 

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