INDIANAPOLIS -- In the age of social media and cell phones, it’s less likely than it ever was that you’re actually interacting with your neighbors – but one social media network is working to fix that problem, and help keep you safe and informed about what’s going on in your community.
Nextdoor is a private social network that connects you with people living in your neighborhood and areas nearby. Using it is as easy as downloading an app or logging in to the website.
More than 100,000 neighborhoods across the U.S. are using Nextdoor to talk to their neighbors, announce garage sales, share neighborhood or community information and even keep their neighbors safe when a crime happens nearby.
There are roughly 99,000 verified users in 630 Indianapolis area neighborhoods, and that number grows each day.
Wanda Cochran said using the app has kept her family safe and informed about their community.
“It’s neighbors reaching out to neighbors,” said Wanda Cochran. “Whether they need information on something going on in the neighborhood, as far as construction or if a neighbor’s garage got broken into. Normally we won’t hear about it unless we know the person. But through here, we now know we need to look out in that area more.”
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It’s not just regular people using Nextdoor, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department got on board when the network first started in 2011, and they’ve been using it ever since.
“We are able to get some information from neighbors about pending crime trends, or we are able to debunk some myths in the neighborhoods,” said IMPD Sergeant Kendale Adams.
It’s also safer than most social media platforms. Nextdoor isn’t like Facebook or Twitter where anyone can join; the network has a verification process to make sure that those who are using it should be there.
“It verifies residents within those neighborhoods,” said Sgt. Adams. “So it’s not just casual conversations, like the Facebook environment. It really is specific messaging for particular neighborhoods.”
Nextdoor can be helpful tools to inform your neighbors and help keep them safe, but police say it’s always important to call the police and report any crime because they don’t monitor the app or website 24/7.
