Nextdoor app aims to bring neighbours together

Imagine a place where communities come together to greet newcomers, exchange recommendations and read the latest local news. Where residents support local businesses and get updates from public services. Where neighbours borrow tools and sell couches.

Now, stop imagining and head to wherever you download your apps and search for Nextdoor, available for both android and Apple users. This app allows you to do just these things.

This is exactly what Summerside, P.E.I. councillor Justin Doiron did. He stumbled upon the Nextdoor app in the Google Play store. It had a very high rating and the description kind of made it sound like Facebook but narrowed down to specific neighbourhoods within a region, he said.

So, he clicked on install, and now he's the lead for his area of East Summerside for the internationally-used social platform that connects neighbours online.

John van Gurp, from Halifax is another Nextdoor convert. As a lifetime resident of the city, he has always had an interest in his community and keeping abreast of what's going there. As a retiree, he said he often finds himself involved in all sorts of interesting new activities. Like Doiron, he's now the lead for his neighbourhood Nextdoor group.

HOW TO JOIN

Being the neighbourhood lead means you're likely the first person to join the site from any given area, explains Doiron.

"It means you're basically in charge of “verifying” the people in the group — making sure they do in fact reside in the community if they try to join without an invite," he explains.

This keeps it so that only people that live within each community are members of the community within the app, he said.

You can invite people by email directly in the app, if you know their email address, share a link, or have the option to mail 100 free invitation letters in your neighbourhood.

After mailing invites, a map shows up that indicates which households need invites, which have received invites, and who has accepted invites, explains Doiron.

Those who want to join but do not receive a mailed invite can submit their address, and then it's up to a lead to approve their request, he said. The lead can also create automatic welcome messages and review posts that other members report.

From there, smaller or interest-specific groups can be created.

For example, Doiron said a neighbourhood might be a fairly large area with a few hundred residences, but you can narrow that down and invite whomever you like. For instance, he created a group with just his street and the street over and invited just those households.

Van Gurp created a subgroup called Dogs of Halifax on a whim but says there's also Halifax 2slgbtqia+ and a newcomers professionals to Canada group on the app as well. All, however, have limited activity thus far, but he's not sure why.

If you go to the Nextdoor app or website, enter your address, and if a neighbourhood doesn't show up, it may be because it hasn't expanded to your area yet. Using the help section, email them if you can add information or are interested in becoming the neighbourhood lead, van Gurp said.

DIFFERENT FROM FACEBOOK

The Nextdoor app is another social media platform, but it's quite a bit different from Facebook and most of the other big platforms, explains van Gurp. Every member is associated with a street address and the system connects real people and businesses. All members are verified in some way.

While the platform is not all that familiar here on the East Coast yet, van Gurp said it's huge in the United States and some other countries. Unlike Facebook, it doesn't rely on groups created and owned by an individual. It's a more open sort of environment in that way.

“I get the impression that many of the Nextdoor members don't like Facebook, but for some reason, they feel like Nextdoor is more trustworthy,” said van Gurp.

In his neighbourhood, van Gurp said they have had lost and founds, lemonade stand announcements, discussions about local development underway or slow streets initiatives, and introductions by neighbours who own local businesses. Last week, there was a “guess where this vintage photo was taken” contest.

Van Gurp said they also get warnings of nighttime car door checking and other alerts.

When a person posts a message like a lost and found, an urgent crime alert, a poll or an event, they can select just their own neighbourhood to post to or they can expand to nearby neighbourhoods as well. This gives a greater reach and helps to grow neighbourhoods.

MEET YOUR NEIGHBOURS

“For me, the most useful aspect of the app is just getting to know who your close neighbours are,” said Doiron.

Before he joined, he would see people drive or walk by, and usually give a wave. But now, he recognizes some people around his home from the app and knows some of them by name.

“For our little corner of the city, it's more about just sharing the odd message on the app,” said Doiron.

There are good news stories that have come about as a result.

Van Gurp said there is now a “Help Map” feature to the app, where neighbours can register to offer help to others. For example, one of his neighbours said he was available for snow shovelling, yard work, physical unskilled labour and feeding cats. Although it did not specify whether this was a free gesture, the thought is there. Another post indicated the individual was there to check on neighbours with regular phone calls, FaceTime, or whatever worked or was needed.

Doiron says recently there was an introductory post in the neighbourhood by someone who had just recently moved in. Another member replied with a welcome and ended up taking cookies over to the new neighbours.

"It's likely that wouldn't have happened without Nextdoor bridging the gap," he said.