Today, EveryBlock, an early innovator in the local news space, unveiled a significant Web site relaunch that places community and conversation at the center of the neighborhood news experience. EveryBlock’s new features make it easier for residents to share and discuss news nearby, get to know each other, earn recognition for their contributions and improve their neighborhoods.
“The Web doesn’t yet offer an easy and effective way for people to post messages to their neighbors,” said EveryBlock founder Adrian Holovaty. “We’re hoping to fill that need.”
“Other social media tools are focused on people you already know – professional colleagues, friends, family. But how many people become Facebook friends with their neighbors? How many people in American cities can even name more than a handful of their neighbors? There’s a huge opportunity here for EveryBlock, especially given the fact that we already have an audience of people who are using our service to follow news in very specific geographic areas,” said Holovaty.
The most significant aspect of the new EveryBlock is the prominence it gives to neighbors and neighborhood conversations. It also has a number of additional features that support and encourage the EveryBlock community:
- Ways to discover people who follow the same places as you, so you can get to know your neighbors
- Ways to encourage and be encouraged for positive community behavior, such as thanking neighbors for their posts and earning Neighborhood Honors for making meaningful contributions
- Multiple opportunities to make yourself known in the community through neighbor profiles, photos and lists of your neighborhood interests
- Increased Facebook and Twitter integration to streamline log-in and sharing
- Ability to follow multiple locations while viewing a single custom homepage
- Citywide view of top news items and conversations
- Enhanced neighborhood e-mail alerts reflecting the community features of the new site
"The new EveryBlock isn’t just about reading what’s happening in your neighborhood. It’s about getting to know the residents in your community and turning discussions into real-world actions to make your block a better place,” said Becca Martin, EveryBlock community manager. “The addition of features such as user profiles and Neighborhood Honors are just the start of our plans to transform EveryBlock into a hub for neighborhood conversation.”
Neighbors can visit www.everyblock.com to join discussions about what's happening in their neighborhoods and get to know people in their community. They can also find EveryBlock at facebook.com/everyblock and twitter.com/everyblock.
About EveryBlock
EveryBlock is the leading Web site for neighborhood discussions and block-level news, including the latest news stories, crime reports, real estate listings and business reviews. The new EveryBlock is now available in each EveryBlock city: Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle and Washington, D.C. EveryBlock was acquired by msnbc.com in August 2009. The team is based in Chicago.
Media Contact
Gina Stikes
212.664.7403
Gina.Stikes@msnbc.com