Nextdoor – the Private Social Network for Your Neighborhood
(Published in the 10-6-15 edition of the Sheboygan Press)
The City of Sheboygan officially launched Nextdoor, a private social network for you, your neighbors and the Sheboygan community, in March of 2014. Looking at the Nextdoor program as a way to provide a private social network for neighborhoods was suggested by a leader of a local neighborhood. After investigation by City staff and Nextdoor’s agreement to remap the city’s neighborhoods to match the boundaries that were previously drawn up by the Police Department, Sheboygan started to sign-up residents.
As of October, over 1,600 Sheboygan residents have signed up to participate. The sign-up of new neighborhood members continues to grow at a rate of about 30 members per month. There are 1,425 separate households that currently participate, which amounts to 7% of all Sheboygan households.
People involved are using Nextdoor to track down a trustworthy babysitter, get recommendations on who does the best paint job in town, ask for help keeping an eye out for a lost dog, quickly get the word out about a break-in, organize a Neighborhood Watch Group, find a new home for an outgrown bike, let neighbors know about used furniture available for pickup or to promote a garage sale or a community event.
There are 60 Sheboygan Neighborhoods on the Nextdoor network. Most of the participation and growth is happening in neighborhoods on the North Side, although nearly all neighborhoods across the city as a whole are on Nextdoor. End Park, a neighborhood in the center of the North Side, has the most members at 97; the Vollrath Park neighborhood has the largest percent of participation, 34% of households. The most involved neighborhood on the South Side is Indiana Avenue Corridor with 59 members, which is 10% of households in that neighborhood.
The Nextdoor network allows the City another option to get information out to residents. City Planning and Development, the Police Department, Mayor’s Office, Mead Public Library, and the Water Utility all currently post information to Nextdoor participants. The City also uses Twitter, Nixel and person-to- person neighborhood meetings to communicate with residents. The Nextdoor model does not allow the city departments to see the messages exchanged between the Nextdoor neighbors.
The difference with Nextdoor from other social networking programs is that it restricts communication to only those people who live in the immediate or adjacent neighborhood. Users are required to verify their identity and home address upon signing up. This protection makes it safe to share online the kind of things you’d be okay sharing with your neighbors in person.
In short, it is all about community. Nextdoor has slowly built a network of more than 53,000 neighborhoods across the United States, all based on local neighborhood boundaries. The City of Sheboygan is one of 17 cities in the State of Wisconsin and the only community in Sheboygan County to have a formal relationship with Nextdoor. Like other social networking sites, there is no direct cost to the City and it’s free to the individual participants
Please consider joining the Sheboygan Nextdoor connection. It’s easy; just go to nextdoor.com and prove that you live at an address in Sheboygan. You will then be sent a confirmation code which will give you access, then set up your profile. Once you are setup as a user you can invite other Sheboygan residents to participate by sending them an invite via email or a postcard provided and postage paid by Nextdoor. I hope that you find that it is an easy way for you and your neighbors to communicate online and make all of your lives and your neighborhood better.