I gave this presentation at the #GSMCON2016 on April 6th, 2016 with my colleague Adrian Fine and Lon Peterson Communications Manager, City of Palo Alto, California. Presentation descripiton: Your citizens care about what directly impacts them in their neighborhoods. They want to know when there will be disruptions and changes to their services, construction on their streets, and they want updates about crime and safety issues. While Facebook and Twitter are great to get the word out to the masses, these platforms do not allow for targeted communications at the neighborhood level. During this session, learn how over 1,600 agencies use Nextdoor to engage verified residents in the neighborhoods where they live and how this hyper-local communication improves citizens satisfaction.

1. Joseph Porcelli | Nextdoor Sr. City Strategist & Professional Neighbor | 857-222-4420 | Joseph@nextdoor.com | @JosephPorcelli
Nextdoor: Engaging neighborhoods and
improving citizen satisfaction
The free and private social network for neighborhoods

2. Your Presenters
Joseph Porcelli
Senior City Strategist
Nextdoor.com
@JosephPorcelli
857-222-4420
joseph@nextdoor.com
Adrian Fine
City Strategist
Nextdoor
@adrianfine
adrian@nextdoor.com
415-294-0761
Lon Peterson
City of Palo Alto
Communications Manager
@LonWasHere
lon.peterson@cityofpaloalto.org
650-329-2656

3. Agenda
• Nextdoor background and differentiators
• How to engage at the neighborhood level
• Tips to improve citizen satisfaction
• How Palo Alto uses Nextdoor to increase citizen satisfaction
• Questions and answers

4. Nextdoor background and differentiators

5. Nextdoor is the private social
network for the neighborhood

6. Photo credit - Kimberly C. Gaines, CEO/Founder, sondai expressions creative, llc
Nextdoor empowers neighbors who might not otherwise connect to build
community and partner with government to create safer, stronger, and more
resilient Neighborhoods.

7. Social networks in a neighborhood
lower crime, improve public health
and raise test scores.
Robert Putnam, Harvard Professor and Author, Bowling Alone
“
“

8. 56% of U.S. neighborhoods have launched Nextdoor
96,000
APRIL 2016

9. Private
Privacy is critical to creating
a safe, trusting environment
Local
Neighbors must verify their
address and use real names
Useful
Utility makes the service
an essential resource
Built from the ground up for all kinds of neighborhoods

10. Nextdoor is the lifeline to the neighborhood

11. Neighbor use Nextdoor on the web, via the app, or email

12. Our initial product focused on immediate neighbors

13. Next came nearby neighbors from adjacent neighborhoods

14. Members then asked to include city agencies and utilities

15. We are currently exploring how businesses fit into the neighborsphere

17. How to engage at the neighborhood level

18. Engage Nextdoor members with Nextdoor for Public Agencies

19. • Communicate and engage with current verified residents
• Target messages and conversations into one, many, or all neighbor-defined
neighborhoods, agency-defined service areas, or their entire jurisdiction
• Inform, educate, and activate residents to take actions and change behaviors
that make their neighborhoods stronger, safer, and more resilient!
With Nextdoor for Public Agencies, staff can…

20. Post into specific neighborhoods or service areas

21. How Nextdoor for Public Agencies works
• Residents see agency posts on their Nextdoor
website or mobile app, as well as through email
• Residents can thanks and reply to agency posts,
or send agency users a private messages.
• Agencies cannot see other information about
residents or what they are discussing in their
neighborhoods
• Residents can mute discussions or staff, or
unsubscribe from an agency.

23. Tips improve citizen satisfaction with Nextdoor
Configuration: Grant access to staff beyond the PIO
Focus: Post neighborhood-specific updates
Attitude: Behave like a “neighborhood concierge”
Approach: Mitigate for disruptions and close the loop

24. How Palo Alto uses
Nextdoor to improve
citizen satisfaction.

26. Nextdoor in practice, at the local level
● As a Nextdoor employee, I connect cities with
their residents
● As a Palo Alto citizen, I see how my city uses
various channels to engage residents
● As a Planning Commissioner, I use civic input
to make better decisions
● Nextdoor is not the only channel, but it expands
the conversation beyond the usual suspects

27. Digital engagement for real results
● Palo Alto was losing local retail businesses.. and
residents were worried
● The city solicited feedback and I asked my
neighbors about the types of retail they wanted
to preserve or prohibit
● My personal post received 77 constructive
replies; the city’s outreach garnered over 210
replies and ideas
● This feedback helped the planning commission
write an ordinance that
○ preserved ground-floor retail
○ identified retail-types that citizens valued
○ curtailed certain retail uses
○ passed council’s approval (!)

28. • New York, NY
• Los Angeles, CA
• Harris County, TX
• Houston, TX
• Tarrant County, TX
• Santa Clara County, CA
• Phoenix, AZ
• Sacramento County, CA
• San Diego, CA
• Dallas, TX
• Franklin County, OH
• Travis County, TX
• San Jose, CA
• San Francisco, CA
• Austin, TX
• Fort Worth, TX
• San Mateo County, CA
• Charlotte, NC
• Nashville, TN
To date, Nextdoor has partnered with 1,600 + agencies
• Arlington, VA
• Prince George’s County, MD
• Howard County, MD
• Charles County, MD
• Fresno, CA
• Sacramento, CA
• Long Beach, CA
• Kansas City, MO
• Mesa, AZ
• Virginia Beach, VA
• Oakland, CA
• Arlington, TX
• Anaheim, CA
• St. Louis, MO
• Marion County, OR
• Pittsburgh, PA
• Riverside, CA
• Cincinnati, OH
• Arlington, VA
• Detroit, MI
• Fairfax County, VA
• Richmond, VA
• Greenbelt, MD
• Laurel, MD
• North Las Vegas, NV
• Chandler, AZ
• Orlando, FL
• Garland, TX
• Chesapeake, VA
• Irving, TX
• Niagara County, NY
• Boise, ID
• Modesto, CA
• Houston, TX
• Tarrant County, TX
• Santa Clara County, CA
• Phoenix, AZ
• Sacramento County, CA
• Philadelphia, PA
• Newark, NJ
• Raleigh, NC
• Columbus, OH
• Boston, MA
• Laurel, MD
• San Diego, CA
• Dallas, TX
• Franklin County, OH
• Travis County, TX
• San Jose, CA
• San Francisco, CA
• Austin, TX
• Fort Worth, TX
• San Mateo County, CA
• Charlotte, NC
• Nashville, TN
• Denver, CO
• Portland, OR

29. Nextdoor is the best way to reach your residents
● Engage and activate verified residents
● Target messages to specific neighborhoods or service areas
● No technical integration, contracts, or MOUs
● Nextdoor will always be free, and we are here to help you succeed
Learn more and sign up at nextdoor.com/agency

30. 3
0
Questions for your presenters?
Joseph Porcelli
Senior City Strategist
Nextdoor.com
@JosephPorcelli
857-222-4420
joseph@nextdoor.com
Adrian Fine
City Strategist
Nextdoor
@adrianfine
adrian@nextdoor.com
415-294-0761
Lon Peterson
City of Palo Alto
Communications Manager
@LonWasHere
lon.peterson@cityofpaloalto.org
650-329-2656

31. Thank you
Joseph Porcelli | Nextdoor Sr. City Strategist & Professional Neighbor | 857-222-4420 | Joseph@nextdoor.com | @JosephPorcelli
31