Neighbor Micki's Posts from NeighborGoods

Why I stopped asking you to vote for NeighborGoods in the Pepsi Refresh Challenge

2010-08-25T11:18:47-07:00

You may have noticed that I've pretty much stopped promoting the Pepsi Refresh Challenge in the past few weeks because it's crazy annoying. It's annoying for you, it's annoying for me. NeighborGoods is a young startup with a very small team and honestly, there are better ways for me to spend my time than sending daily reminders to our friends and supporters to vote. I know our friends and supporters certainly have better things to do with their time. Still, the allure of $50k to support NeighborGoods is difficult to ignore and somehow the contest keeps crawling back into my mind. $50k would do a lot for our growing company. Instead of just calling it quits and moving on, I've spent the majority of this month feeling frustrated and powerless in the face of the dark unknown beast that is the Pepsi Refresh Challenge. Not because we're doing poorly (we are). But because Pepsi did not provide the tools necessary to even play a fair game. Much ado has been made lately about the Pepsi Refresh contest and online voting contests in general. Contests like these are thinly-veiled marketing tools for the companies hosting them. Everyone who enters a project in Pepsi Refresh becomes a willing marketing drone to benefit Pepsi at the cost of his/her own social capital. What does Pepsi give in return for that precious social capital? Zero planning time: Applying for Pepsi Refresh is a contest in itself. The website accepts submissions at midnight EST the first day of each month. For three months in a row, I sat hovering over my laptop to submit my completed application at the stroke of midnight. For three months in a row, I received unexplained error messages as I tried to upload and/or the contest filled up before I could click "submit." Finally, on July 1, I got my application in. I received a message that my project was in review and that if approved, it would be entered into the voting contest starting August 1. I waited eagerly for news that NeighborGoods had been accepted into the contest. As Sloane mentions in her piece, Pepsi Refresh for the Gulf is an Epic Fail and Here's Why, it's almost impossible to win the Refresh Everything challenge unless you get onto the leaderboard in the very beginning of the contest. So planning the first hours of your campaign is essential. I didn't receive word until 11:24pm on July 31 that my project was approved. Voting began at 6am the following morning. Without time to plan, it was impossible for me reach out to my networks to ensure I had support early in the voting process. Could you imagine sending an email to everyone in your address book asking for votes as soon as the polls open only to find that your project is not even included? First thing in the morning, NeighborGoods debuted low on the list - placed about 170th - and it hasn't strayed too much from that spot since voting began. A broken website: The Refresh Everything website has been plagued with issues all month. I've received tons of messages from supporters saying they were unable to vote because Facebook wasn't connecting properly. Sadly, this error didn't seem to be consistent so it plagued some projects/voters more than others. Even when it is working, it's difficult to tell when your vote has been accepted due to a confusing multi-click login process. Again, according to Sloane's detailed post, the Gulf projects had even bigger technical problems. Techcrunch noted issues with the website back in January including a huge security breach. Zero transparency: The lack of transparency in the contest is the cause of biggest concern for me. It's disheartening to spend so much time and energy begging for votes without any immediate feedback. Voters themselves are burnt out by so many requests. The least Pepsi could do for the folks tirelessly clicking is show them that what they are doing makes a difference by sharing vote counts transparently. With rumors of proxy voting even after the contest rules were updated to expressly forbid the practice, Pepsi's lack of transparency feels disrespectful at best and shady at worst. The participants have no way of knowing how many votes they need, which get the vote out tactics are working, or if it's even worth their time to continue with the contest. And I suspect that's why they don't share the numbers. Pepsi wants to keep any potentially shady votes hidden from the public so as not to cast a shadow over the whole contest. Pepsi wants all the folks involved to KEEP PROMOTING at all costs. If you can't see that you need an impossible number of votes to win, maybe you'll keep spamming all your contacts to send them to Pepsi's website instead of turning your energies elsewhere. As Beth Kanter argued in her What Lessons Will Pepsi Learn About Crowdsourcing for Social Good from Chase Bank Contest Fail? blog post, the big problem with contests like Pepsi Refresh is that they waste "many nonprofits' [and small startups'] most valuable resource: their time." Of course, there's no reason to believe a popularity contest is a viable way to make social change but everyone who enters contests like this agrees to suspend judgment on that in return for the chance to win money. We all know we're entering a popularity contest when we sign up for these things. So barring that conversation for the moment, how could Pepsi have run a similar contest without leaving such a sour taste in the mouths of the participants? Mmmm Pepsi... How could Pepsi have run a voting contest that respects the participation of the projects and the voters? TRANSPARENCY Sharing the number of votes for each project helps contest participants judge how much time to spend getting out the vote. It also helps them evaluate which tactics work and which tactics are less effective. It gives participants the tools they need to make decisions about how best to spread the word without burning bridges with their social and professional contacts. Transparency also helps contest participants monitor the fairness of the contest they are spending so much time to promote. While this is a risk for Pepsi, fairness should have been priority number one and the contest should not have launched until Pepsi was confident fairness could be guaranteed. Transparency with vote counts is also better for the voters - the people Pepsi counts on to visit their website every day. It's community management 101 to provide immediate feedback for your users. VOTE ONCE (NOT DAILY) Daily voting is much more vulnerable to unethical voting practices (proxy voting) than a one time voting system would be. Daily voting provides an advantage to folks who have more time and the mental bandwidth to remember to vote every day. Should the votes of CEOs be less valuable than the votes of a Jr. High School student who can more easily vote every day? One time voting provides a better yardstick for measuring the support a particular project has. One time voting allows participants to reach out to their networks without spamming them endlessly. It encourages participants to increase the reach of the projects which is also good for the projects themselves. BETTER DISCOVERY There are countless ways the website and voting experience could be improved but a big one is discovery. With so many projects in the running, it's difficult to browse and locate projects to support. Unless your project is on the leaderboard, it's not likely that random visitors to the website will find your project. There is a bit of "If you like this project, here are some similar projects," but again there is little transparency in these recommendations and they are clunky at best. Viewable tags, improved categories and social recommendations based on your friends votes would be helpful here. There is one week left to vote in this round of the Pepsi Refresh challenge. Then it begins all over again. (Projects carry over from month to month.) I will not be wasting any time next month looking for votes. Instead, I will focus on building my business. If you are so inclined, you can vote for us here. I will not be asking you again. Thanks to everyone who has voted for us. Pepsi Refresh aside, I appreciate your support more than you know. And for you, we will continue to work to make NeighborGoods awesome. --- As Sloane did in her blog post on the subject, I feel that in the interest of full disclosure I need to say that I too know some folks working on the Pepsi Refresh campaign personally. I'm friendly with multiple folks at GOOD Magazine, Pepsi's partner in the project, and I respect them all a great deal. I have no choice but to assume that these issues were beyond their control. I point fingers at no person in particular. I can't even blame PEPSI the brand because the world just doesn't work that way. In truth, this was likely a rushed project plagued with management issues that trickled down to the projects and ultimately the voters themselves. In the end, I hope open discussion around the Pepsi Refresh Challenge will be useful for those planning similar campaigns in the future.

New Community Manager

2010-08-23T03:29:19-07:00

You may already know Jessica as "The Intern." She's been working with us all summer, helping out new users, chatting up local groups, etc. Turns out, she's a MANIAC at local events. If you'd like us to visit your neighborhood, let her know. She'll set up a table and have a bunch of neighbors signed up faster than you can say "NeighborGoods." We're super lucky to have her and we're stoked to announce that as of today, she's officially coming on board the NeighborGoods team as our first Community Manager! You can contact her on the site or directly at Jessica@NeighborGoods,net with any ideas, questions, or feedback about NeighborGoods. Of course, you can still reach out to me as well. Welcome, Jessica! We're so happy we get to keep you around!

Vote for our SXSW Panel!

2010-08-11T01:21:44-07:00

It's that time again. Time to vote for your favorite SXSW panels! I'm a seasoned panelist at SXSW and I'm really looking forward to this one. Give us a thumbs up so we can share local awesomeness with the SXSW Community! Local Online Communities: Won't You Be My Neighbor Americans are increasingly turning to high tech tools to recreate the small town experience. Join us for a discussion with pioneers of local tech to learn about how location-based technologies are connecting people to create the next generation economy and a more engaged citizenry. We'll cover tools of the trade, best practices and give you tips on how you can infuse place into your project. Finally, we'll envision what the ideal connected neighborhood might look like in the future. Questions Answered: What are the best tools to make a local community more connected? How are people using technology to create local economies? How can I add a local focus to my technology product? Why should I add a local focus to my technology product? How can local technology help us build a better world? Speakers: Moderator: Lane Becker, Get Satisfaction Jen Pahlka, Code for America Micki Krimmel, NeighborGoods Ann Baldinucci, Nabewise Joe Stump, Simple Geo

New York Times: Buy less, Be Happier

2010-08-09T04:54:57-07:00

This article, But Will it Make You Happy?, has been making the rounds today. In fact, it's currently the most popular article on NYTimes.com. We all know that buying more junk doesn't make us happy. We already know in our hearts what the science proves in this article. Not one among us would argue that our most important, memorable life experiences are born in consumption. In fact, many have been arguing recently that consumption is a distraction to what matters most in life. Could it be that the sluggish economy is just what we needed to refocus our priorities on what makes us really happy?

Amid weak job and housing markets, consumers are saving more and spending less than they have in decades, and industry professionals expect that trend to continue. Consumers saved 6.4 percent of their after-tax income in June, according to a new government report. Before the recession, the rate was 1 to 2 percent for many years. In June, consumer spending and personal incomes were essentially flat compared with May, suggesting that the American economy, as dependent as it is on shoppers opening their wallets and purses, isn't likely to rebound anytime soon. On the bright side, the practices that consumers have adopted in response to the economic crisis ultimately could - as a raft of new research suggests - make them happier. New studies of consumption and happiness show, for instance, that people are happier when they spend money on experiences instead of material objects, when they relish what they plan to buy long before they buy it, and when they stop trying to outdo the Joneses.

In the article, Marshal Cohen, from the research firm NPD Group says, "We're moving from a conspicuous consumption - which is 'buy without regard' - to a calculated consumption." Rachel Botsman and Roo Rogers argue that we are shifting to a model of Collaborative Consumption. Whatever the term, the plain truth is that whether by necessity or choice, many of us are setting our sights on a simplified life. We are seeking happiness in relationships and experiences as as opposed to the accumulation of more shiny objects. NeighborGoods, Zipcar, AirBnB and all the other services that are a part of the new sharing economy are proof of this shift and give us the opportunity to borrow and share material goods instead of purchasing and owning them. The New York Times article closes with a bit of advice: "Give away some of your stuff. See how it feels." I encourage you to also lend some of your stuff and borrow something you need from a neighbor. See how that feels.

What's Mine is Yours

2010-08-06T11:47:20-07:00

I am very excited to announce the impending launch of this book: What's Mine Is Yours: The Rise of Collaborative Consumption by Rachel Botsman and Roo Rogers. What's Mine Is Yours is a timely and idea-fueled book that reveals a powerful socioeconomic groundswell called "Collaborative Consumption" - traditional sharing, bartering, lending, trading, renting, gifting, and swapping redefined through technology and peer communities - that is transforming business, consumerism, and the way we live. NeighborGoods is featured in the book and we have partnered with Collaborative Consumption to give our members the chance to win a copy. Simply share with us your favorite experience using NeighborGoods and you could win a copy of What's Mine Is Yours: The Rise of Collaborative Consumption. From morning commutes to the way we borrow and lend money, to the way fashion is designed, to how we share our back gardens, different areas of our lives are being created and consumed in collaborative ways. We have literally re-wired our world to share - be it in an office, a neighborhood, an apartment building, a school, or a Facebook network. And this sharing is happening in ways and at a scale never before possible, creating a culture and an economy of what's mine, is yours. By joining NeighborGoods, you have taken a personal step toward supporting the CC movement. Go you! Share your tweet-sized (140 character) NeighborGoods story with us by emailing me at micki@neighborgoods.net. By submitting your story, you agree that we can use it to help promote NeighborGoods. Oh and don't forget to vote for us once a day in the Pepsi Refresh Project! It's an easy and free way to support our mission to build more sustainable and connected neighborhoods. Click here refresheverything.com/neighborgoods or text 101391 to Pepsi (73774). Vote once a day through August!

Green Tech Today from This Week In Tech

2010-08-05T04:01:45-07:00

This Week in Tech just launched a new series: Green Tech Today and we're featured in the very first episode!

Purchase of donation for 2.00 on 2010-08-02

2010-08-02T04:15:25-07:00

Vote for NeighborGoods to win $50k in the Pepsi Refresh Project!

2010-08-02T10:49:53-07:00

Before I get to begging for votes, I have to say thanks to our amazing members! Thank you so much for making our national launch a huge success! It's been an amazing month. Thousands of you joined NeighborGoods, invited your friends and added your stuff to the inventory. Our neighbors are now sharing well over $2 million worth of stuff! That makes us the fastest-growing peer-to-peer lending/renting site out there. We are honored that you have given us the opportunity to help you and your neighbors save money and resources by sharing stuff you already own. We promise to keep improving our service and to keep kicking ass for you! But we need your help. I'm sure you've heard of the Pepsi Refresh Project by now. You've probably even had some of your friends bug you for votes to support various ideas. This month, we're asking for your support to help us win $50k! I know there are so many contests these days and it can get a little annoying. But this cash will go a long way for us and we'd appreciate it if you can take a minute out of your day to vote for the NeighborGoods community. HOW TO VOTE: Just visit this link and click "Vote for this idea:" http://www.refresheverything.com/neighborgoods If you've got a Facebook account, you can vote with just one click. You can vote once a day through the month of August. It's an easy and free way to show your support for our mission to build stronger, more sustainable communities. Thanks in advance for your support!

Help NeighborGoods Win the Pepsi Refresh Project and Help Strengthen Your Community

2010-08-02T10:46:19-07:00

WHY BUY WHEN YOU CAN BORROW? HELP NEIGHBORGOODS WIN THE PEPSI REFRESH PROJECT AND HELP STRENGTHEN YOUR COMMUNITY NeighborGoods, The Fastest Growing Peer-to-Peer Lending & Renting Website In The U.S., Reaches Out To Its Community To Help The Company Win A $50k Grant from Pepsi Los Angeles, Calif., August 2, 2010 -- Los Angeles based startup, NeighborGoods.net announced today that it is reaching out to the community for votes in the Pepsi Refresh Project. The Pepsi Refresh Project is awarding millions of dollars in grants to world-changing ideas submitted by individuals and communities. The projects with the most votes are awarded grants at the end of each month-long voting period. NeighborGoods is aiming to win a grant for fifty thousand dollars. The company's world-changing idea is simple: Save money and resources by borrowing and renting items your neighbors already own in a safe local online community. The Pepsi Refresh competition comes on the heels of NeighborGoods' very successful national launch. In less than one month, NeighborGoods has acquired thousands of users across the country who have added over $2 million worth of inventory for sharing. In response to the recent economic crisis, Americans are increasingly looking for more ways to save money. NeighborGoods helps members save money and live more sustainably while strengthening local communities through sharing of physical goods. "Our success in recent weeks proves that Americans are looking for ways to connect with their local neighborhoods," said NeighborGoods founder, Micki Krimmel. "We're a completely community-driven service and we're counting on our community to help us win the Pepsi Refresh contest. With just one vote each day, our members and supporters can help us win the money we need to keep working toward our mission." NeighborGoods is requesting that people vote for the company by visiting www.refresheverything.com/neighborgoods and clicking the button "vote for this idea." Visitors may vote for NeighborGoods once each day through the end of the August. About NeighborGoods NeighborGoods.net is the fastest growing peer-to-peer lending/renting service in the US. NeighborGoods is like Craigslist for borrowing but with more security built in. Members can safely borrow a lawnmower, lend a bicycle, or earn some extra money by renting a DVD collection. NeighborGoods provides all the tools to share safely and confidently including transparent user ratings and transaction histories, privacy controls, deposits, and automated calendars and reminders to ensure the safe return of loaned items. Contact Information: Website URL: www.NeighborGoods.net More about NeighborGoods: http://neighborgoods.net/faq NeighborGoods Founder & CEO, Micki Krimmel (310) 503-1698 Micki@NeighborGoods.net # # #

Jobs

2010-07-27T05:21:13-07:00

PHP Developer (Part time) We are looking for a passionate web designer/developer to support existing features and build new features on NeighborGoods.net. NeighborGoods is a startup in Los Angeles with lots of buzz and an exciting future. Please take a few minutes to research the company and familiarize yourself with the website before applying for this position. We have a very small team so passion for our mission and personality fit is of utmost importance. We want to know who you are and why you want to work here! This will be a part time position to start. Working remotely on nights and weekends is OK if you are currently employed and looking for additional work. But you MUST be in Los Angeles. There will be times when we'd like you to be on site in downtown LA. There is potential that this will turn into a full time in house position. We are an early stage startup with lots of momentum and we want you to grow with us. Our office, known as the Idyllic Nerd Commune is in the heart of the Arts District, quite possibly one of the coolest neighborhoods in LA. Requires minimum of 2 years experience with:

HTML/CSS - must be able to hand code complex and dynamic web pages.
Javascript - must be familiar with modern Javascript libraries such as jQuery
MySQL - must be familiar with construction of SQL queries, use of command line tools, and use of programming techniques related to database access
PHP - strong familiarity with PHP, including object oriented php.
SVN - must be familiar with SVN source code revision system
Previous experience building web applications in a LAMP environment
Experience with scalability/load issues a plus

Responsibilities include:

Implement new features onto our existing website based on specification documents
Design and build new features as required
Perform day to day technical maintenance tasks
Test and deploy software to our production servers
Monitor server health and web analytics and make recommendations

Please send resume and email describing your interest and why you think you're a good fit for the position to jobs@neighborgoods.net.

Welcome NPR Listeners!

2010-07-27T08:59:38-07:00

We love public radio! Because it's broadcast locally, it goes a long way to fostering a sense of local community. So we were very excited when Alex Cohen from LA's NPR station KPCC said she was interested in doing a segment on NeighborGoods for Morning Edition. The segment aired this morning and we'd like to take this moment to welcome all the new members who discovered us through Alex's news segment! If you missed it, listen online here.

NeighborGoods on KPIX TV in San Francisco!

2010-07-22T03:25:35-07:00

Check out this awesome news piece about us on KPIX in San Francisco! Many thanks to super neighbor mjmontagne for doing such a great job as an interview subject! Watch the video here.

Consumer or Citizen?

2010-07-15T02:48:29-07:00

On July 15, 1979, President Jimmy Carter spoke to the American people about the "Crisis of Confidence" faced by Americans who were losing faith in the government and who increasingly feared that their children would be worse-off than them. In this famous speech, Carter laments the loss of American values in the face of rising consumerism.

Our people are losing that faith, not only in government itself but in the ability as citizens to serve as the ultimate rulers and shapers of our democracy. As a people we know our past and we are proud of it. Our progress has been part of the living history of America, even the world. We always believed that we were part of a great movement of humanity itself called democracy, involved in the search for freedom, and that belief has always strengthened us in our purpose. But just as we are losing our confidence in the future, we are also beginning to close the door on our past. In a nation that was proud of hard work, strong families, close-knit communities, and our faith in God, too many of us now tend to worship self-indulgence and consumption. Human identity is no longer defined by what one does, but by what one owns. But we've discovered that owning things and consuming things does not satisfy our longing for meaning. We've learned that piling up material goods cannot fill the emptiness of lives which have no confidence or purpose. The symptoms of this crisis of the American spirit are all around us. For the first time in the history of our country a majority of our people believe that the next 5 years will be worse than the past 5 years. Two-thirds of our people do not even vote. The productivity of American workers is actually dropping, and the willingness of Americans to save for the future has fallen below that of all other people in the Western world.

Sound familiar? Setting aside the religion issue for the moment, it's clear that we face many of the same problems Carter discussed in 1979 today - and more. We are no longer a nation at peace everywhere around the world. The energy crisis has worsened. Consumer debt and national debt is out of control. Millions of Americans have been pushed out of their homes and unemployment is reaching record highs. Still, in the face of clear evidence that rampant consumption is unsustainable, we measure the health of our economy by our spending. Still, we measure the quality of American life by our ability to spend. It's like consumerism has practically replaced citizenship. But how did this happen? How did we go from a nation of citizens to a country of consumers? Liberals will argue that rampant de-regulation was the culprit. Conservatives will say that free market capitalism is the purest expression of democracy. Personally, I'm less interested in esoteric discussions about economic theory than I am in conversations about how we, the citizens of America, can impact the future of our own communities. How can we re-build the sense of community and common purpose in our local neighborhoods? How can we restore values of thrift and saving for the future? How can we work together to restore a sense of confidence in the future of America?

We are at a turning point in our history. There are two paths to choose. One is a path I've warned about tonight, the path that leads to fragmentation and self-interest. Down that road lies a mistaken idea of freedom, the right to grasp for ourselves some advantage over others. That path would be one of constant conflict between narrow interests ending in chaos and immobility. It is a certain route to failure. All the traditions of our past, all the lessons of our heritage, all the promises of our future point to another path, the path of common purpose and the restoration of American values. That path leads to true freedom for our Nation and ourselves.

21 years after Jimmy Carter delivered his speech, a movement is growing to take up his mission to "commit ourselves together to a rebirth of the American spirit." Neighborhoods across the country are taking their communities into their hands. The number of farmers' markets has more than tripled since the mid-90s. Activists in cities across the country are supporting community projects like urban farming, bicycle lanes, and community art projects. Location-based technologies like Foursquare and Loopt are exploding in popularity as citizens are seeking to be more connected to their local communities. In their upcoming book, What's Mine is Yours, Rachel Botsman and Roo Rogers argue, "[I]n the 20th century of hyper-consumption we were defined by credit, advertising, and what we owned, and how in the 21st century of Collaborative Consumption we will be defined by reputation, community, and by what we can access." Collaborative Consumption is an explosive movement of "sharing, bartering, lending, trading, renting, gifting, and swapping... that is transforming business, consumerism and the way we live." The authors examine the growth of services like ZipCar, Swaptree, Couchsurfing, and NeighborGoods. As the founder of NeighborGoods, a peer-to-peer lending and borrowing service for local neighborhoods, I'm proud to be a part of this ~~consumer~~ citizen-driven effort to rebuild local communities and restore confidence in America's future. But how can borrowing and lending household goods help restore confidence in America's future? At NeighborGoods, we believe that hidden inside all the stuff you own is a whole bunch of latent value. The items you are not using on a regular basis hold latent monetary value as well as social value. Obviously, when you share objects with others, you are helping your neighbors save money. By getting more use out of your power drill, you are extracting more of its monetary value. By sharing that power drill, you are also creating stronger social bonds with your neighbor, thus extracting the hidden social value in that object. We've spent most of the 20th century buying objects and building fences to protect them. NeighborGoods and other sharing services help us lower those fences as we transition into the more sustainable, less consumer-driven economy of the 21st century. By lowering your fences and sharing with people around you, you are actively participating in the Collaborative Consumption movement. You, my generous and forward-thinking friends, are true citizens. Citizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, or national community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities. "Active citizenship" is the philosophy that citizens should work towards the betterment of their community through economic participation, public , volunteer work, and other such efforts to improve life for all citizens. In this vein, schools in some countries provide citizenship education. Citizenship was equated by Virginia Leary (1999) as connoting "a bundle of rights -- primarily, political participation in the life of the community, the right to vote, and the right to receive certain protection from the community, as well as obligations." - Wikipedia.org Video and transcript of "Crisis of Confidence" speech via Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia.

Neighbor Micki wants to borrow jessicasomething's Wexford Oscillating Pedestal Fan

2010-07-08T04:27:56-07:00

Why NeighborGoods matters

2010-07-01T01:30:58-07:00

The idea of NeighborGoods is so simple. Sharing stuff is good for you. It saves you money, it's more sustainable than buying a bunch of crap you don't need, and it creates a reason to meet a friend or a neighbor face to face where you might not have otherwise. Still, this very simple idea has the potential for monumental impact, especially when taken in context of a larger cultural movement. My good friend Sean Bonner wrote a post about our launch yesterday and he summed up our mission so well it brought a tear to my eye. He gushes about NeighborGoods in a way that I couldn't possibly do myself so I want to share it here for you.

I'm not just being exaggeratory here, I firmly believe that Neighborgoods will change the world. This is a world changing service. The best products/services/ideas are the ones that make your life easier - they shave you time, they save you money, they save you hassle. Neighborgoods does those all of those things while at the same time reducing the amount of waste we will generate that will end up in landfills. It saves you from buying things you don't need, and lets the things you already have be put to better use.

But it also allows us to be social within our neighborhoods again. There was a time when people actually walked next door to borrow a cup of sugar from their neighbors. Nowadays most people don't even know what their neighbors names are. Neighborgoods allows you to share your stuff with only your friends, and/or also with people who live near you. Our society is increasingly told not to talk to strangers - but everyone is a stranger until you have a reason to meet them. Neighborgoods makes it OK to be friends with the people who live near you again. It's not just good for your wallet, for your storage problems, for the environment, it's actually good for society as a whole. I whole heartedly believe this, and I'm so excited for and proud of what they are doing and I can't wait to see where it goes from here. People launch sites and products every day, but few of them have the ability to impact your life for the better as much as Neighborgoods does. If you live in SoCal you probably already know this. If you live somewhere else in the US, this just changed your life and you don't even know it yet - go sign up now.

Read the full post and check out how awesome Sean is on his blog here. <3

Neighbor Micki wants to borrow Mickipedia's Mickispeedia sign

2010-07-01T09:03:43-07:00

Holy sh*t! We launched!

2010-06-30T09:35:11-07:00

Holy shit today was intense! I'm sorry but there's just no other way to say it! We've put so much work into NeighborGoods and I've been so honored to work with such amazingly talented people over the past year and finally we all get to celebrate a huge national launch for our tiny startup. And boy did we launch! We launched with a giant bang!

Over 1000 new members in the last 24 hours
We're bringing in revenue for the first time

Here are just a few highlights from all of today's amazing press! Neighborgoods: borrowing, lending, or renting from your neighbors instead of buying new, Boing Boing NeighborGoods is a Location-Based Lending and Borrowing Network,Lifehacker NeighborGoods Comes to Your Neighborhood,Shareable.net NeighborGoods Extends The Sharing Of Actual Things To The National Level, TechCrunch Share Stuff with Friends and Neighbors, Laughing Squid Save Money This Summer with NeighborGoods, Mother Nature News NeighborGoods Launches Across the USA, Wired Blog And wow, I couldn't have expected more love from Twitter. We spent the whole day in a wash of supportive tweets from folks who want to live more sustainably and help strengthen their communities. This is a movement, people! Each and every one of us ~~can play~~ HAS TO PLAY a part in creating the world we want to live in. And we have to start in our own neighborhoods. Thank you sooo much to everyone who's helped in the early days. We are just beginning! Your participation and feedback has been invaluable. This means you, beta testers! Big fat special thanks to my lovely ladies: @crisdobbins, Designer Extraordinaire @jessicasumthing, The Best Intern Ever @spenceke, The better half of @XOXCO And of course our brilliant and talented developer who I am so freaking lucky to work with, Ben Brown at XOXCO. No, he will not build you a copy of NeighborGoods.

Less Is More for Retailers

2010-05-21T09:44:34-07:00

re-blogged from Huffington Post Photo by Jeff Engelhardt I'm always on the lookout for solutions that help me feel a little less commercial. I don't know about you but I don't like being defined as a "consumer." In my daily life, I'd rather spend less time fretting over what to purchase, when, and at what price. There are other things to think about. I wasn't expecting to get a little help in this endeavor from the very people who are constantly trying to sell me things. I was listening to NPR last week and heard this great story on Marketplace about how retailers forced to scale back inventory during recession have found success with a "less is more" approach. Have you ever been in a store and been overwhelmed with all the choices? Have you ever run out of time or been unable to make a decision so that you buy nothing at all? Me too! As an unintended consequence of scaling back in tough times, retailers are finding that they are actually selling more by offering less. Jo-Ann's is a great example of a store that has learned this lesson. As a result, the retailer is completely redesigning 75 of its locations this year to make for a simpler, cleaner shopping experience with fewer options to purchase. Expect to see less stuff at the following stores in the near future as well: Target, Old Navy, 7-Eleven and Wal-Mart. What does this mean for us? Less time in stores! Less buyer's remorse wondering if we made the right choice! Maybe, just maybe, if stores begin offering less stuff, we'll purchase things with more intent. Maybe we'll learn to value our stuff a little more and start making substantive changes to our throw-away culture. All thanks to Wal-Mart. Whodathunkit?

Neighbor Micki wants to borrow Mickipedia's Mario Kart wii game

2010-05-12T11:58:10-07:00

Improving LA's neighborhoods on the Huffington Post

2010-04-30T03:30:03-07:00

I posted my first blog entry on the Huffington Post today! It's in the Los Angeles section and it's called "Knowing Your Neighbors Is Good for the Economy." It's an extension of what I blogged here yesterday with a focus on solutions right here in LA including our local time banks and a restaurant that serves locally-sourced food. I'm really excited for the opportunity to get more involved in my local community by writing for the LA Huffington Post. I love that there are so many sites and blogs devoted to local communities. The Huffington Post now has local sections devoted to NYC, LA, Chicago and Denver. Our friends at Metroblogging have local blogs in over 50 cities! What are some of your favorite local online resources?