Local business search launches on My Neighbourhoods
By Charley Brinton | July 2, 2008
A very handy new feature has just launched on My Neighbourhoods. You can now search for local (or not so local) businesses. Perhaps it’s your anniversary and you’re going out to dinner, and you want to get your hair done for it. But then a pipe bursts and you need an emergency plumber. No problem, you can now find local restaurants, hairdressers and plumbers on the My Neighbourhoods local business search. And that’s not all - if you had a great dinner, and the plumber was reliable you can leave a rating and review for other users to see.
So go to the My Neighbourhoods local business search for all your local needs.
Topics: Neighbourhoods, News, My Neighbourhoods, Local community, Local information, Local business | No Comments »
My Neighbourhoods shortlisted for Catalyst award
By Charley Brinton | July 2, 2008
We’re excited to announce that My Neighbourhoods has been nominated and shortlisted for a Catalyst award. The Catalyst awards were developed in response to Prime Minister Gordon Brown starting the Council on Social Action. The awards aim to recognise and reward people who use social technology to do something good for their community and people around them. As our members know, the aim of My Neighbourhoods is to bring communities closer together with the use of online social networking. You can find out more about the Catalyst Awards by clicking here and we’ll keep you updated as to My Neighbourhoods progress and the final results. Keep your fingers crossed for us!
Update: Voting is now open for the Catalyst Awards - please vote for us
Topics: News, My Neighbourhoods | No Comments »
Free local business advertising
By Charley Brinton | June 13, 2008
It’s a competitive world, and an expensive one - especially for smaller local businesses up against the giants of the high-streets. So what better than being able to advertise your business locally, absolutely FREE. Not only can you target your local customers directly, but also you can give as much or as little detail as you like on My Neighbourhoods. No limiting yourself to 50 characters or less! We love local businesses, they’re what holds communities together and we believe they need as much support as possible. Free local business advertising is just one of our ways of helping to keep local businesses running.
Topics: News, My Neighbourhoods, Local community, Local information, Local business | No Comments »
It’s summer, let’s have a street party
By Charley Brinton | June 11, 2008
I went back to the area I grew up in last weekend, and enjoyed one of the annual highlights, the local summer fair. Held in and around a square, it hasn’t changed in the 25 years that I can reach back in my memory. The little stage where the local kids perform various dances and songs is still the same, with perhaps a slightly better sound system, the Punch and Judy still sits in the far right corner, the bbq still has the longest queue and the kids are still getting giddy on the mini teacup round-about. I may even have recognised a few pieces on the bric-a-brac stall. It was old fashioned and undeniably “local” and very comforting.
In two weeks I’ll be returning to my old street for a private street party. This is in it’s 10th year, and where it was only attended by 3 of the 14 or so properties on the street, this year they’re expecting almost everybody to attend. There’s been lot of movement in the street in the last year, many people have left and many people have moved in and this is possibly the reason for the large turnout - it’s about getting to know your neighbours whilst enjoying a [hopefully] warm and dry summer evening, some wine and a burger from the communal bbq.
I’d like to see more summer fairs and street parties - it pulls communities together, and leaves a general “feel good” atmosphere. Isn’t that what we all would like in the place where we live?
Topics: Neighbours, Neighbourhoods, Community, Local community | No Comments »
Looking after our local children…
By Charley Brinton | May 26, 2008
Last September I wrote a post entitled “A child is a whole village’s responsibility”. This has come to light even more in recent weeks with the tragic death of Khyra Ishaq, the seven year old girl who died, possibly of starvation and neglect, a few weeks ago in Birmingham. It’s thought her brother and sisters are in a similar state of neglect. What some people would like to know is what about the neighbours? Did no-one notice the children? Or if anything disturbing was happening next door to them, or on their street. Perhaps they did and decided it wasn’t their business? They didn’t want to be accused of being busy bodies. But where do you draw the line. If I suspected that any child was being abused or neglected, or indeed and adult was in trouble in a house in my community I’d like to think I would notify the authorities. It’s so sad to think that this death, and many other tragic domestic occurrences, could have been prevented if people weren’t so adverse to getting to know those who live in close proximity to them.
Topics: Neighbours, Neighbourhoods, News, Community, Local community | No Comments »
My Neighbourhoods interview on BBC Three Counties Radio
By Danny Bull | May 23, 2008
Yesterday I was asked to take part in an interview on the Drivetime show of BBC Three Counties Radio around the subject of the decline of community in the UK. The interview touched on a range of subjects and it was extremely interesting to take part, particularly in relation to recent news events that have caused people to carefully consider the state of neighbourhoods and community spirit in the areas we all live. If we could all feel and act more close to the people around us our communities could be better and safer places to live, which is one of the main reasons I created My Neighbourhoods.
Listen to the full interview (4Mb mp3)
Topics: Neighbours, Neighbourhoods, News, My Neighbourhoods, Community, Local community | No Comments »
Best designed neighbourhood site
By Danny Bull | May 22, 2008
It’s always nice to get some positive recognition from bona fide web users, especially against sites of the same nature, which is what’s happening over at CommandShift3 where My Neighbourhoods is battling UpMyStreet and FixMyStreet for the title of best neighbourhood site. My Neighbourhoods is currently the best designed neighbourhood site with 33% of the vote followed by UpMyStreet on 23% and FixMyStreet trailing on 14%.
Head over to CommandShift3 to view the results or cast your vote.
Topics: My Neighbourhoods, Location, Local information | 2 Comments »
Neighbourhood days
By Charley Brinton | April 25, 2008
In a large city like London, it’s hard to build a proper local community spirit. So it was good to see a “Neighbourhood day” happening in my local area. With all the delights usually found at a village fate (cake stalls, toys and books, bric a brac, all type of home-made stuff) I’m looking forward to seeing much neighbourly behaviour and listening to a bit of local gossip. I think Neighbourhood Days should be a more common occurance, particulalry in large cities, so if anyone on My Neighbourhoods would like to advertise their Neighbourhood Day - or village fate for that matter - let me know and I’ll add it to the blog. And if anyone’s in Stroud Green, north london on Saturday 26th April, then come and join the party.
Topics: Neighbours, Neighbourhoods, Community, Local community | No Comments »
Local politics
By Charley Brinton | February 26, 2008
Recently, and for the first time in my life, I’ve got involved with local politics. Well, only so far as objecting to a very noisy and unpleasant bar/club across the street from us, extending their license to 2am weekdays and 4am weekends. We’ve been suffering with noise from this bar since it opened last Easter, and it was only when I heard about the license extension that I decided to contact the neighbours and get them to object as well. After doing a bit of an old fashioned mailshot to the houses on our street, it turned out quite a few people had had enough as well and we ended up setting up a bit of residents group. So it’s taken us 5 years and a license application from a bar for us to meet some of our immediate neighbours and find out what nice people they are too. Perhaps if we’d all been on My Neighbourhoods a year ago, we might have been able to stop the bar/club setting up home on our street to begin with! Oh, and we sort of won the fight with the license. They’ve been granted an extension but with so many conditions it’s not really worth it. It’s never straight forward with politics, local or otherwise, is it?
Topics: Neighbours, Councils, Community, Local community | No Comments »
My Neighbourhoods one of the top 70 European Web 2.0 sites
By Charley Brinton | February 20, 2008
My Neighbourhoods has appeared on the list of the 70 most promising and exciting web 2.0 Start-ups in Europe, compiled by frostfirebuzz.com. And it’s the only one of it’s kind on there! To see all the sites included, click on the following link
http://frostfirebuzz.com/the-top-70-web-2-0-startups-in-europe
Topics: News, My Neighbourhoods | No Comments »