Social:Streetlife (website)

From HandWiki

Streetlife was a United Kingdom social networking website that links users together based on the neighbourhood where they live.

Background

Streetlife was developed by entrepreneur and software developer Matt Boyes, after his brother-in-law's new London home had been burgled in 2008 and he had found it awkward to get in contact with his neighbours.[1] Originally called "Streetbook", it was trialed in the London Borough of Wandsworth.[2] Streetlife.com was launched to the rest of the UK on 21 March 2011.[3]

Streetlife received financial investment from newspaper and magazine company, Archant, Caffè Nero co-founder Paul Ettinger and Friends Reunited founder Steve Pankhurst amongst others. By 2013 they had raised £1.4 million investment and Archant's media connections were used to re-market the website.[4]

By 2015 Streetlife claimed to have 1 million members[5] (doubling in size over the first six months of the year) and covering 4,000 communities across the UK.[6]

In February 2017, Streetlife was purchased by United States firm Nextdoor.[7] Streetlife sent an email to its members recommending they transfer to Nextdoor. It announced Streetlife would be closed at the end of the month.[8] However Nextdoor's different privacy policy has provoked anger amongst some former Streetlife users.[8]

References

  1. John-Paul Flintoff (20 March 2011). "Log on to the local network". The Sunday Times. http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/style/homes_and_gardens/My_Place/article580334.ece. 
  2. Rosie Niven (15 December 2011). "Case studies: Using social media to increase neighbourhood co-operation". theguardian.com. https://www.theguardian.com/voluntary-sector-network/community-action-blog/2011/dec/15/social-media-neighbourhood-cooperation. Retrieved 2015-12-16. 
  3. "Society Daily 21.03.11". theguardian.com. 21 March 2011. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2011/mar/21/nhs-public-satisfaction-society-daily-email. Retrieved 16 December 2015. 
  4. Steve O'Hear (30 July 2013). "Streetlife, The U.K. Local Social Network, Raises Further £600K From Archant Digital Ventures, Shohet & Cie". Tech Crunch. https://techcrunch.com/2013/07/30/streetlife/. Retrieved 16 December 2015. 
  5. "Streetlife: Community Spirit is Alive and Well! - Business Wire". http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150630005634/en/Streetlife-Community-Spirit-Alive-Well!. Retrieved 15 February 2017. 
  6. "Streetlife: Community Spirit is Alive and Well" (press release). Reuters. 30 June 2015. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160305132243/https://www.reuters.com/article/streetlife-idUSnBw305634a%2B100%2BBSW20150630. Retrieved 1 January 2016. 
  7. Cellan-Jones, Rory (6 February 2017). "US neighbours' network Nextdoor buys UK's Streetlife". BBC News. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-38879239. 
  8. 8.0 8.1 Cellan-Jones, Rory (9 February 2017). "Streetlife users in Nextdoor privacy row". BBC News. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-38920906. 

External links