Whilte-label over the top (OTT) app ttrumpet on Monday announced the launch of a new services aimed at improving safety in communities and around businesses.
According to ttrumpet co-founder Grant Theis, this new “Community Channels” feature is designed to be the second part of its security ecosystem. The first part of that ecosystem involved the launch of Tag Me, which allows users’ family and friends to follow each other’s journey remotely (in real-time) and raise the alarm if they go off-route or don’t reach their destination when expected.
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Community Channels means that users can now also report suspicious activity in their area, post a picture, and give exact location of the incidents from their mobile devices. This in turn can automatically notify the respective authorities accordingly – should they link their ttrumpet chat platform with their security provider – creating a broader eco-system for security awareness,” says Theis.
Read more: New ttrumpet feature lets your friends, family follow your trips
It’s interesting that ttrumpet is formalising this kind of feature, given that a number of communities already do so informally on other apps such as WhatsApp. It also means that it comes up directly against community-driven apps such as OurHood.
Theis cautions that Community Channels should not be regarded as a standalone security app. Instead, he says, “it’s a platform connecting individuals in real-time with their communities, providing information that will enable them to better read different situations, which will impact how they act and react as responsible citizens and, ultimately keep communities safer.”
Read more: Community social network OurHood boasts over 1K neighbourhoods
The newly launched feature consists of 30 suburbs in Cape Town, Pretoria and Johannesburg – with the aim to add 5 000 suburbs within the next 12 months
“We are aiming to provide communities with a platform customised to their needs – currently neighborhood watch and security groups use a combination of Whatsapp Groups and Facebook sites to communicate incidents and happenings in their community. In most instances, these group posts result in constant alerts and haphazard reporting. The ttrumpet channels offer a single interface that deals with unlimited users or members. Users have the ability to filter their notifications and send messages in an intuitive and structured manner. Incidents can be viewed on a map view which bring great statistical benefits. This was not possible before and now communities can view the trends of various incident types over time, allowing them to highlight various areas that need attention.
ttrumpet also says it enables community businesses and neighbourhood associations to customise their channels for its members.
