While the online world allows people to connect with those on the other side of the world, it can also be the perfect place to connect with those down the road as Neighbourly has shown. Following the site’s third anniversary last month, we talk to co-founder and managing director Casey Eden about its sustained growth, the lessons he’s learned and how journalists can use it to facilitate change.
In moves parallel to Nextdoor in the US, Kiwi private neighbourhood website Neighbourly is shacking up with councils. Last month it signed an agreement with Rotorua District Council to be an official communications platform to complement existing channels, and Neighbourly says it’s in discussion with a further 26 around New Zealand.
Is the thought of knowing who your neighbours are, sharing fruit with them, discussing neighbourhood crime and having a street barbie rather retro? Well, those golden times of safe, strong neighbourhoods could be coming back if new private website, neighbourly.co.nz, has anything to do with it.