Village Launches New Social Media Program in Partnership with Nextdoor.com

Online, July 2, 2013 (Newswire.com) - The Village of Gurnee has become the first municipality in Illinois to officially partner with Nextdoor, a social media website which utilizes geographic neighborhoods to create private social networks for local residents to communicate with their neighbors and share information. The addition of Nextdoor to the Village's social media partnerships will both enhance the Village's ability to communicate timely and useful information to residents as well as give residents an opportunity to meet one another and share information.

Nextdoor, a San Francisco based company, creates exclusive social networks based entirely around neighborhoods, which only residents of those neighborhoods can join and participate in. Once enrolled, residents can use Nextdoor to meet their neighbors, ask questions and exchange local advice and recommendations. For example, neighbors could use Nextdoor to share information about safety issues, upcoming homeowners' association meetings, local events, school activities, garage sales, lost pets and more. All information shared on Nextdoor is password-protected and cannot be accessed by those outside of the neighborhood or found through any search engine. The Village will also have the ability to post information about events of local interest and upcoming meetings, such as Neighborhood Watch meetings, but will be unable to see any other information posted on the page by residents. The program is entirely free and voluntary for residents.

To join, residents must visit Nextdoor's website, sign up and have their address verified into order to receive full access. Addresses may be verified through one of four free methods: via an access code mailed to the resident's address by postcard, through being invited by a neighbor who is already in the network by e-mail, via landline telephone or through credit card verification.

The Village joins more than 90 other municipalities across the nation such as San Jose, CA; Dallas, TX and Fort Lauderdale, FL who have partnered directly with Nextdoor through its City Program, which allows local officials to pre-create neighborhoods for ease of resident access. The Village created 31 neighborhoods based on pre-existing neighborhoods, neighborhood watch beats, homeowner association boundaries and natural borders such as roads and railroads.

The Village's decision to partner with Nextdoor follows the successful partnership of Nextdoor and the Providence Village Homeowners' Association, which has a previously existing account.

"Our neighborhood Nextdoor.com account has drastically increased the communication between our residents. Residents are sharing details about upcoming community and neighborhood events, Neighborhood Watch participation, service and repair recommendations and more," said Chris Miller, the Providence Village Homeowners' Association Secretary.

"Our partnership with Nextdoor will provide us with another method to transmit vital information and also gives residents an easy way to meet their neighbors and encourage those relationships. When neighbors know and trust one another, everyone benefits and neighborhood safety increases," said Kevin Woodside, Chief of Police.

Press Contact:
Media Relations
The Village of Gurnee
Village Hall, 325 N. O'Plaine Road Gurnee, IL 60031-2636
http://www.gurnee.il.us/