Nextdoor launches neighbourhood social networks

Internet startup Nextdoor launched a social network on October 26y designed to strengthen communities by connecting real-world neighbours. The US launch of Nextdoor.com was touted as a modern age variation on the town square or backyard fence where neighbours get to know each other and keep tabs on what was happening around their homes.
"Good things happen when people know their neighbours," Nextdoor co-founder and chief executive Nirav Tolia said while showing the service to AFP.
Nextdoor is free. The only caveat is that users must verify who they are and that they live in the real-world location that comports with the boundaries of the online neighbourhood they wish to join.
"When you have a physical address, you have a high level of trust," Tolia said. "This way you can get to know your neighbours and, more than anything, bring back a sense of community."
Nextdoor has been in private test mode for less than a year and has already spread to more than 175 neighbourhoods in 26 states. "Nextdoor takes the best of social media, adds a spoonful of intimacy, and envelopes it in a blanket of privacy and comfort," said Anne Clauss, whose neighbourhood in Hamilton, New York, staked out a place at the service.
The website layout is reminiscent of social networking king Facebook, but news feeds focus on local topics ranging from movie DVDs being given away or lost pets to recommendations for babysitters or ice cream shops.
"Nextdoor is the virtual backyard fence or front-porch conversations of years ago," said Verlinda Henning, part of the online version of her neighbourhood in Memphis, Tennessee.
Maps atop Nextdoor pages show layouts of neighbourhoods, with green plots symbolising members and red showing non-members. Members can click on any plot to see who lives there and have Nextdoor send them an invitation postcard.
Being part of Nextdoor is free and the website doesn't post advertisements. The startup is focused on attracting users, expecting revenue will follow, likely in the form of working with local businesses.
Only those with passwords can get into the pages of a virtual neighbourhood, and information can't be indexed by Google or other search engines, according to Nextdoor.