WASHINGTON — Remember what it was like to actually go outside and talk to your neighbors?

With today’s ubiquitious social networking, it seems a bit counterintuitive to look to a smartphone application as a way of instigating real-world contact with people in your vicinity, but that’s what Nextdoor.com attempts to do.

After downloading the app or logging onto the website, the service verifies a user’s address and points him toward an Nextdoor network in your neighborhood, or issues an invitation to be the founding member, reports the New York Times.

Users can adjust settings to get notifications if there’s a neighborhood emergency, but won’t be bothered if someone down the block is looking for a pair of used hockey skates.

The group’s Member Agreement  requires members use their real name.

When signing up, Nextdoor verifies the address of users, through mobile or home phone number, credit card, social security number, and having a postcard mailed to your physical mailbox.

The topics of discussion and over-the-backyard-fence chatting can be tailored to the specific Nextdoor neighborhood. The Times reports a community in Alaska used the service to alert each other about bear sightings, while a neighborhood in Pennsylvania shared opinions of contractors and announced yard sales.

The company says 77,000 communities have signed up so far.