Will The Facebook for Neighborhoods Be Popular in DC?

• August 14, 2012

by Shilpi Paul

Would you join a Facebook made up of only your neighbors?

Nextdoor is a closed social network for residents of a given neighborhood. It offers an alternative to the neighborhood listserv, an old technology that can feel cluttered and clunky. The newer Nextdoor, which raised $18.6 million in investment this summer, has a user-friendly interface where neighbors can discuss crime, invite each other to BBQs, sell their furniture and find babysitters. Users must be verified residents, and each neighborhood site is closed to the rest of the world.

The site has been generating some buzz this year; we heard about it on Scott Roberts’ Bloomingdale neighborhood blog yesterday, and a bit of digging around revealed articles in Forbes, Wired and The Washington Post, among others.

The layout is similar to Facebook; neighbors post on a “wall” and commenters can respond. Tabs at the top indicate a marketplace, crime and safety discussion, and recommendations. There is also a map of the area, a statistic on how many of the households have joined, and lists of groups and events.

A demo page of Nextdoor.

Although we don’t have access to many of the DC neighborhoods, some clicking around revealed a few active sites, including Dupont Circle, 16th Street Heights and Bloomingdale. Other populated neighborhoods, like Adams Morgan and Capitol Hill, don’t yet have members, but residents are prompted to be the first to sign on. You can find a list of DC neighborhoods here.

Readers, what do you think? Is there a need for a slick neighborhood social network or do you like interacting with your neighbors the old fashioned way?

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/will_the_facebook_for_neighborhoods_be_popular_in_dc/5906