Have You Heard of Nextdoor.com?

I had never heard of Nextdoor.com. But a few weeks ago I stepped out on my front porch to retrieve the mail.

As I started to walk back in, I saw a postcard had been slipped underneath the mat.

I reached down and picked it up. It said “Nextdoor.com.”

Sent By A Neighbor:

It was sent to me by one of my neighbors. I don’t know one neighbor on a first-name basis in almost two years of living here. But now with Nextdoor.com, we are finding out who our neighbors are.

Nextdoor.com was begun in 2010 and now helps many neighborhoods communicate with one another; know one another, help one another.

From Their Website:

Nextdoor is the private social network for you, your neighbors and your community. It’s the easiest way for you and your neighbors to talk online and make all of your lives better in the real world. And it’s free.

Thousands of neighborhoods are already using Nextdoor to build happier, safer places to call home.

People Are Using Nextdoor To:

• Quickly get the word out about a break-in
• Organize a Neighborhood Watch Group
• Track down a trustworthy babysitter
• Find out who does the best paint job in town
• Ask for help keeping an eye out for a lost dog
• Find a new home for an outgrown bike
• Finally call that nice man down the street by his first name

Nextdoor’s mission is to bring back a sense of community to the neighborhood, one of the most important communities in each of our lives.

It’s Password Protected:

And what is super fantastic is that your online neighborhood is password protected. No one but the residents of your neighborhood can gain access. Great idea, huh?

People are busy with their family and their own lives. But this insulates us from the rest of the world. How many neighbors do you know on a first-name basis in your neighborhood?

Many pets are found this way. Word spreads rapidly and people pull together. I’ll read something like: “Think I saw your pet at the corner of (and tells the street corner)”.

Or: “Hi, I saw your flyer and I have your pet. He is safe and unharmed. You can come to get him at this address any time.”

A Feeling Of Community:

This fosters a feeling of community. And I am so thankful to have this now to communicate with my neighbors.

All you need to do is google Nextdoor.com and register. Now when I put in that URL, I’m taken straight to my neighborhood.

20/20 calls Nextdoor.com the neighborhood of the future.

During Superstorm Sandy New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his communications team used Twitter and other social media tools to get the word out about the storm. School closings, power outages, and assistance.

Soon, though, the mayor and New York will start to use an additional tool to inform New Yorkers. New York has partnered with Nextdoor.com.

Accolades:

Nextdoor.com is on Time Magazine’s 50 best websites for 2013. So it’s getting lots of press. But I’d never heard of it until I found that postcard underneath my mat.

It is bringing people together. And that’s what America needs. Go to Nextdoor.com and put your zip code in. Check it out.

Just who is Nextdoor.com?

About Nextdoor:

We’re a team of 60 people who are passionate about building stronger and safer neighborhoods. We’re based in San Francisco, California.

Our Manifesto:

---

We are for neighbors.

For neighborhood barbecues. For multi-family garage sales. For trick-or-treating.

We’re for slowing down where there’s children at play.

We’re for sharing a common hedge and an awesome babysitter.

We’re for neighborhood watch. Emergency response. And for just keeping an eye out for a lost cat.

Welcoming Neighbors:

We believe waving hello to the new neighbor says, “Welcome” better than any doormat.

We believe technology is a powerful tool for making neighborhoods stronger, safer places to call home.

We’re all about online chats that lead to more clothesline chats.

We believe fences are sometimes necessary, but online privacy is always necessary.

We believe strong neighborhoods not only improve our property value, but they also improve each one of our lives.

We believe that amazing things can happen by just talking with the people next door.

We are Nextdoor. We are simply you and your neighbors, together.