Neighar aims to solve the Indian Neighborhood problem and much more!
The great promise of social networking has been the ability to stay in touch with friends, family and, let’s face it, mere acquaintances without regard to traditional hurdles like geography. But in the process of bringing everyone, from long-lost friends to grade-school acquaintances, just a status update away, the rise of Facebook, Twitter and the like may have left someone out: the folks living near us.
“We did not see a social network in India that could connect us to what we believe is one of the most important communities of all, the neighborhood,” said the CEO of neighar.com. “We realized that Indian Villages and neighborhoods are the original social network, and the need to connect to it”
Neighar is part of a growing trend of online sites and tools geared toward filling a gap left in part by commuter culture, frequent moves and migrant population in Indian villages and cities.
“Technology has done a great job putting us in touch with the people we don’t live close to,” said Neighar CEO. “It has not done as great a job, in the past, of helping us connect with the people right outside our houses walls.”
Neighar, the Indian neighborhood and community app, requires users to be part of the same neighborhood or community, or be vouched for by an existing member to join pages that were, in turn, created by someone who lives close by.
Once created, Neighar focus on everything from driver searches and requests for local help to discussions about crime in the area or suggestions on which local businesses to promote.
It’s the kind of chatter one would traditionally expect to take place over coffee, across the back fence or at the local barber shop. But statistics suggest those conversations are becoming few and far between.
In a Research conducted poll from last year, 16% of respondents said they knew the names of all their neighbors, while 48% said they didn’t know any of them.
It is worth noting is that the poll found daily Internet users were actually more likely than nonusers to know their neighbors and equally as likely as people who go online less frequently. It is consistent finding in the research studies that, flying in the face of the assumption that online social networking detracts from real-world interaction and users should explore outside and socialize. You should go outside and socialize,” Neighar’s CEO said. “But the sad truth is, almost half of people in Indian cities say that if they were to go outside, they wouldn’t know who their neighbors are and wouldn’t even smile at them. But if they get to use tools like Neighar, they’re will more likely to interact faster and better.”
Neighar isn’t alone in trying, but at least starting to address that. There may be many other sites or apps trying to get into this space. “When growing up, I saw my parents and grandparents who knew ever single neighbor in every single house and I knew every single person on the street,” said the co-founder of neighar.com, the localized network focused on favors among folks who live near each other and a sort of uber-local Craigslist to buy and sell.
With Internet usage increasingly common among all age groups, Neighar CEO said apps like his can act as a virtual ice-breaker.
“It’s awkward these days to walk up to someone’s flat and say ‘hi,’ “ he said. “Even though I’m a relatively social guy, but it’s just not comfortable to walk up to a door and say, ‘Hi, I’m your new neighbor.’ You don’t know what the circumstances are behind that door, so you just don’t do it.”
Neighar launched in late summer in 2023 and has been heavily macking impact. Neighar is not publicly announcing user numbers. Neighar Android App was launched in October 2023 after a year of testing, during which several villages went online. “We’ve been absolutely flabbergasted by the response,” Neighar CEO said. “We’ve had literally thousands of people come to the appstore and either want to create Neighar for their neighborhood or join a Neighar community.”
Whoever sets up a neighborhood page on the app submits what they consider the boundaries of that neighborhood. As membership grows further, the boundaries can be narrowed or expanded. Neighar free to use and eventually hope to sell targeted advertising to local businesses. Meanwhile, they’ll keep trying to help introduce people who may be more likely to find your lost dog or loan you a cup of sugar than “like” your status update or “favorite” your tweet. “We’re not necessarily trying to make everyone who passes each other on the street hug each other,” Neighar CEO said. “But there’s a value to having a relationship with the people who live next to you.”