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Nextdoor Website Helps People Meet Their Neighbors, Share Information
By Nichole Richardson
It’s a sure bet that even if you don’t use Facebook, you’ve heard of it. The social media giant has changed the way we communicate with one another; so much so that we never have to leave our homes or pick up a phone if we don’t want to.
This immediate gratification is both a blessing and a curse when it comes to reaching out to local neighbors and friends. Fortunately, a newer platform called Nextdoor has arisen, which enables people to connect on a much closer, more local level.
Nextdoor is a free online platform that enables neighbors to create private social networks for their neighborhoods. It launched nationwide in Oct. 2011 and has more than 124,000 neighborhood websites across all 50 states, representing more than 70% of U.S. neighborhoods. The main goal is to create safer, stronger, and more close-nit communities. Currently, more than 45 Florissant neighborhoods are using Nextdoor.
This is good news considering an April 2015 survey at the Pew Research Center found only a hair over half (52%) of people polled stated they trusted most or all of their neighbors. Thus leaving the other 48% trusting only some or none of theirs.
Nextdoor is set up similarly to a community bulletin board and chat room. It takes Craigslist, Yelp, Patch, and Facebook and rolls them all into one big local meeting place–but only for neighbors. As soon as you join the site, you must confirm that you actually live where you say by way of code verification sent to a cell or through standard mail
Nextdoor Links Neighbors
Once completed, the site allows a map identifying all registered neighbors and mails postcards on your behalf, to unregistered neighbors with their codes inviting them to join. Inside the site, users can introduce themselves and browse different topics of discussion.
The following is a breakdown of conversations on Nextdoor:
- 7% Events
- 8% Lost & Found
- 8% Free items
- 16% Crime & Safety
- 19% Classifieds
- 26% Recommendations
- 16% Other (such as garage sales and school activity)
Daryl Meese, from the Humes/Patterson neighborhood, even started the North County Dining Club for Nextdoor users. The club meets at restaurants to get together and support local businesses. Good Samaritan, Scott Hill, posted a picture of a sign someone hung while trying to find their lost keys.
Overall, if you’re looking for an easy way to get to know your community better or help out a neighbor, this site is the place to visit. Who knows-you could be having dinner with the neighbors sooner than you think.
Nextdoor user, Karen Sensabaugh, shows off the Easter Bunnies the “Stitch and Chat” group made.
For more information: https://nextdoor.com/
