San Rafael, CA – The County of Marin has established a partnership with Nextdoor (www.nextdoor.com), the private social network for neighborhoods, to convey neighborhood-specific news from the Civic Center and improve communication with residents.
The integration with Nextdoor enables the County government, including the Marin County Sheriff’s Office, to communicate with the online community to build stronger, safer neighborhoods with the help of residents. With the new partnership, County departments can post information to specific Nextdoor websites or, in the event of a major disaster, send out vital emergency information to all of Marin’s Nextdoor neighborhoods simultaneously.
Nextdoor neighborhood websites are accessible only to residents who verify that they live in that area, and residents establish and self-manage their own Nextdoor sites. Information shared on Nextdoor is password protected and cannot be accessed by search engines. With Nextdoor, residents can share information with their neighbors about public safety issues, community activities, business recommendations and even lost pets.
Nextdoor is popular in many areas of Marin, where 188 neighborhoods have started Nextdoor websites and nearly 19,000 households have a Nextdoor account. Some neighborhoods have participation rates as high as 65 percent, which ranks them among the highest in the country. Mill Valley, Tiburon, Belvedere and the Central Marin Police Authority also have partnerships with Nextdoor.
“If we have information that would interest a neighborhood, such as a notice about a community meeting, a road paving project or an emergency situation, we’ll be able to share news with just that segment of the population via Nextdoor,” said Brent Ainsworth, the County’s consulting public information officer.
The County is not able to access residents’ Nextdoor website to read others' posts. Residents' profiles, content and private messages remain private. The County can only see replies to its own posts. Also, the County will not monitor Nextdoor 24 hours a day, so be aware that the site will not be the appropriate way to report a crime, suspicious activity or a fire. Call 911 for emergency services.
Nextdoor is free for residents and the partnership comes at no cost to the County.
“The County sees this partnership as an exciting new step in its campaign to be accessible and transparent with information,” Ainsworth said. “Social media allows us to reach residents quickly, especially in case of emergency. Not only does Nextdoor give the County a new opportunity to connect with Marin residents, but it gives those residents a chance to collaborate with each other.”
Residents interested in joining their neighborhood’s Nextdoor website can visit www.nextdoor.com and enter their address. Visit help.nextdoor.com to answer more questions about Nextdoor.