AUCKLAND, Thursday: Home grown Kiwi community website Neighbourly has just hit 750,000 members and in just five years has become New Zealand’s second-largest online member community, behind Facebook.
Debuting in a handful of Auckland suburbs in 2014, the Stuff-owned site is now a well recognised name.
Stuff ceo Sinead Boucher says the achievement recognises the value its members place in local connections and knowledge.
“Hitting three quarters of a million members in just a few years is remarkable – especially considering similar sites have popped up overseas without enjoying the uptake we’ve had here.
“It really proves how community-minded Kiwis are.”
Boucher says the Christchurch mosque attacks in March showed how much New Zealanders were prepared to come together to support one another.
“Neighbourly was a place people could turn to and process what happened. Noticeboards were filled with members showing their support, expressing their grief and coordinating events to fundraise for the victims,” she says.
“While we have evolved, local still remains the core of who we are.”
“In fact, we consistently see acts of kindness on Neighbourly. That’s a real point of difference between us and many other member communities. It encourages neighbours to connect and support one another every day.”
The site has continued to grow steadily, adding an average of 10,000 new members each month.
“While we have evolved, local still remains the core of who we are,” Boucher says.
“Neighbourly will always be a home for conversations which celebrate our communities.”
BY THE NUMBERS:
- Second-largest online member community in New Zealand.
- More than 750,000 Neighbourly members.
- More than 27,000 local businesses use the website to reach their customers, and more than 3000 community organisations to spread their messages.
- 900 ‘Neighbourly Leads’. These are volunteers and regular users of the website who look after the neighbourhoods they are based in.
- 3744 posts featuring the word chicken. Neighbourly estimates most of these would be lost and/or found chickens.
- More than 23,907,596 welcome messages sent to new neighbours.
About Neighbourly
Neighbourly is designed to connect and inspire neighbours to build safer, stronger and friendlier places to call home. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Stuff Limited. Neighbourly is much more than missing cats, local tradies and buying and selling kitchen sinks; it helps build resilient communities, providing a platform for social change through local empowerment and for local businesses to connect with local customers. Upon signup all members are required to provide proof of address and also must use their real names.
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