Nextdoor
(Via Nextdoor)

Nextdoor, the social network for neighborhoods that brings to light everything from lost pets to serious criminal activity, announced Thursday that more than 100,000 neighborhoods now interact on the platform.

Launched in 2011, the free and private network represents 60 percent of the neighborhoods in the United States.

“Over five years ago, my co-founders and I were inspired by a simple yet profound insight: while technology and the internet had made it seamless to communicate with people across the globe, it had done very little to connect us with the people right outside our front doors,” Nirav Tolia, co-founder and CEO of Nextdoor, said in a news release. “There was no easy way to stay in touch with some of the most useful people in our lives: our neighbors.”

ezgif.com-resize (1)Headquartered in San Francisco, Nextdoor said millions of people connect on the site daily for a variety of reasons.

“We saw an opportunity to use technology to bring back a sense of community to neighborhoods everywhere. We knew it would not be an easy or fast journey,” Tolia said. “It took an entire year to get the first 150 neighborhoods to sign on, but as we listened and learned, it became clear that neighbors really wanted something like Nextdoor.”

Milestones along the way have included raising $18.6 million in July 2012; launching an iPhone app in May 2013; Android app in August 2013; raising $60 million in October 2013; raising $110 million in March 2015.

Nextdoor growth
(Via Nextdoor)

In the Seattle area, which ranks as one of the top 50 cities on the network, the site’s user base has grown by 103 percent in the past year. More than 2,500 neighborhoods in the greater Seattle region have Nextdoor sites and 98 percent of neighborhoods (195) are represented in the city.

With a major influx of newcomers seeking community in Seattle, the site has not been without controversy, as some have labeled Nextdoor as a sounding board for nothing but complaints about the homeless and perceived crime. The Seattle Police Department’s partnership with Nextdoor has also raised questions about whether the department only listens to the neighborhoods which complain the loudest on social media.

In his blog post Thursday, Tolia recognized “the 1,500 public agencies who use Nextdoor to engage with their local constituents” and concluded by saying, “It’s been a great ride so far, but we have a long way to go.”

Like what you're reading? Subscribe to GeekWire's free newsletters to catch every headline

Job Listings on GeekWork

Find more jobs on GeekWork. Employers, post a job here.