Just Ask IMAGE

Where did those Nextdoor Sandy Hill letters come from?

Residents of several streets in Sandy Hill were surprised recently to receive a stamped envelope labelled to “Sandy Hill Neighbour” with their address. Inside was a letter inviting them to use a free app called Nextdoor Sandy Hill to connect with neighbours. The letter was signed by ‘Your neighbour, Dr. Isabelle Roy, Chapel Street.’

Intrigued by this invitation, IMAGE contacted Isabelle Roy at her chiropractic office in Kildare House at 323 Chapel. Dr. Roy explained, “I’m still learning about how this app works myself. I heard about it from a colleague in the States who said it was sort of like a smaller, better Facebook, where neighbours could exchange local information like lost pets and safety updates, and stuff to buy and sell. It sounded like it could be really useful.”

She went on to say that she did not actually write or send the letter herself, but merely suggested streets that the letter could be sent to. “The Nextdoor company took care of the rest. Because people need to sign up with a code that has been mailed to their home address, only people who are verified to actually live in the neighbourhood can join the group. You are connecting with your neighbours, not someone on the other side of the world.”

The letter says there are already over 800 posts on Nextdoor Sandy Hill. IMAGE would be interested to hear from anyone who has had experience with the social networking app themselves: either here, in another neighbourhood, or in one of the 11 countries where it is active.

— Betsy Mann