Thanks to social media, it’s easier than ever to loan your neighbor a tool, buy cookies from the Girl Scout nextdoor or help a family down the street with an aging parent. Here are three avenues, among the many that exist, to bring you closer to your neighbors.
Facebook. The giant social media site provides a quick and easy way to connect neighbors with its closed group pages. Set up and moderated by a neighbor, it allows folks a forum to share events, find babysitters, support someone in crisis, alert one another about crime in the area and much more. A moderator typically keeps things civil with permanent post at the top of the page encouraging users to be positive.
Nextdoor. A social networking site specifically for neighborhoods, residents provide verification of address after being sent via postcard. Like Facebook, members post comments, questions, seek services, ask for recommendations, share crime concerns, promote events and sell household goods.
Meetup. Although geography plays a part with networking site Meetup, the real focus is on connecting with folks who share common interests. Books, games, movies, crafts and dating are among the hundreds of subject areas featured. Free to individual members, the site makes its money by charging organizations to be promoted. Meetup makes matches based on Zip Code rather than neighborhood.
