SLC endorses social media tool that connects neighborhoods


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SALT LAKE CITY — Social media is known for its ability to connect people throughout the globe, but Salt Lake City launched an initiative Monday to support using social media as a connection between neighbors.

While Facebook is for friends, Tinder is for lovers, and Twitter is for news and celebrities, Nextdoor is the social media site created for local communities. On Nextdoor, neighbors create private webpages for their neighborhoods, and only those who have confirmed addresses in the community can view the content.

Some Salt Lake neighborhoods, such as Rose Park, have used Nextdoor for a few years to find local resources, organize community events, buy and sell goods and services, and locate missing items. It's only been a few months since Salt Lake City entities began piloting involvement on the site, said Blake Perez, a member of the Rose Park Community Council.

Mayor Ralph Becker and Police Chief Mike Brown on Monday announced an official collaboration with Nextdoor. Three Salt Lake City pages will connect neighborhoods to community engagement, community councils and the police department. City representatives will post information about City Council meetings, safety, activities, crime, construction and more.

"In a way, we are promoting the use of this tool because we think it is a way to create better neighborhoods," Becker said, "but it is also now a way for the city to be a part of the Nextdoor grass-roots effort to be able to provide information that we think may be of interest."

Neighbors can request information from the city or disclose information to the city, said Justine Fenwick, senior city strategist at Nextdoor.

Brown said he hopes Nextdoor will help to create a virtual neighborhood watch system that will notify police of suspicious activity.

Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker talks about a collaboration between Salt Lake City and Nextdoor, a private neighborhood-focused social network for residents, during a press conference Monday, Oct. 12, 2015, at the public safety building in Salt Lake City. (Photo: Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)
Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker talks about a collaboration between Salt Lake City and Nextdoor, a private neighborhood-focused social network for residents, during a press conference Monday, Oct. 12, 2015, at the public safety building in Salt Lake City. (Photo: Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)

"No one knows neighborhoods better than those who live there, so they can give us helpful hints in solving crimes," Brown said. "I encourage everyone to be a nosy neighbor."

Though city officials can post to neighborhood pages, they aren't capable of accessing residents' websites, posts and contact information unless the resident sends that information to the city webpages, Fenwick said.

Perez said he's pleased that Rose Park can now connect with the city through Nextdoor. He said there are more than 370 profiles on the Rose Park webpage, which people use frequently to discuss crop-swaps, housing market statistics and safety precautions.

On Saturday, the Rose Park Community Council organized a cleanup on an overpass that borders other neighborhoods. Members of the community council sent messages to other neighborhoods' Nextdoor websites, and participants from three neighborhoods came to help clear the overpass, Perez said.

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Becker said his neighbor expressed concern about the poor lighting in one area of their neighborhood in a post on Nextdoor. He said the post led him to talk with city representatives of how to fix the problem.

Other recent Salt Lake City postings from various neighborhoods include neighbors posting warnings of telephone scams and attempted break-ins, asking to borrow baking supplies, looking for a gardeners and plumbers, and announcing lost pets. Fenwick said such discussions online lead to face-to-face interaction.

"I had an experience just recently where my 12-year-old son outgrew his bike and I wanted to get rid of the bike, so I put it out on the neighborhood network," she said. "One person said she would come over to get the bike after I posted it, and you better bet that I talk to her now when I see her at the park."

More than 80 percent of Salt Lake City — 72 neighborhoods — have Nextdoor websites, Fenwick said. Those interested in joining their neighborhood's website may visit www.nextdoor.com and enter their address.


Tori Jorgensen is a Deseret News intern and current communications major at Southern Utah University. Find her on Twitter @TORIAjorgensen. Email: vjorgensen@deseretnews.com.

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