Over 50 people from the village have signed up for Nextdoor Wing, the local version of the multinational neighbourhood communication app,  in the last 4 days since it went live. Unlike most messaging systems it goes to great trouble to ensure that only Wing residents are invited. It checks a number of sources before you will be allowed to sign up and finally, the Wing Lead ( me or my delegate ) has to vouch for you.

It started in the US ( where else!) where it also expanded rapidly because it is a simple version of the usual social media apps – but strictly limited to your neighbourhood and a few surrounding neighbourhoods ( which you can control).

It is currently funded solely by venture capital but the plan is to sell limited LOCAL advertising within 3 years.

It took off in the town I lived in Bellingham, WA, where each postcode became a Nextdoor Neighbourhood. So the town of Bellingham, with 10 postcodes for its 30,000 residents, rapidly became neighbourhoods in the real sense. If you lost your cat the whole neighbourhood knew instantly. If you needed an emergency plumber you had several recommendations.

And when we left we had strangers, but neighbours, hold a BBQ for us.

John Oakley

As most of you know my wife, Judith, and I have been living part-time in the US. As have many people in the US, have we’ve been using a private neighbourhood messaging system to keep in touch with our neighbours without the privacy issues with Facebook or similar open messaging systems. It is now one of the fastest growing networks in US and Canada.

It lets you communicate with your neighbours, who may or may not be your “friends” in Facebook sense. I’ve now set up a Neighbourhood Wing site and sent an invite to anyone within the boundaries of Wing if you have ever sent me an email and still live in Wing.

If you have received an email from me inviting you to join just click on the big green button. If you haven’t received an email it’s just because we haven’t swapped emails in the last 16 years and you can click on the Neighbourhood Wing site anyway to join.

It’s yet another attempt at trying to recreate the village atmosphere that we had 16 years ago when I first moved here. As a member, you can use it to find help from your neighbours, buy and sell stuff, ask for advice etc. You can even set up groups for more privacy and I’ve set up SAMPLE groups for the Wing Neighbourhood Plan and the Wing Village Hall Committee.

There is a website at https://wingoakham.nextdoor.co.uk/ but if you are web-averse, as some of you very understandably are, the messages are available by good old steam email.

It fits between using the website, which used mainly as a noticeboard, and email, which is mainly 1:1 and can be totally private. It’s like an electronic version of meeting at the village shop but without the need to leave your fireside and go out in the rain to pick up the latest gossip.