Until now, all the news on the hyperlocal news site EveryBlock was compiled by the site’s editors and algorithms. Today, EveryBlock launched a nifty new feature that allows its users to post stories to the site and notify their neighbors about interesting events in their neighborhoods. The new feature allows users to post anything from news alerts to questions and classified ads on the site. These alerts will also now appear in EveryBlock’s newly enhanced iPhone app (iTunes link).
These announcements will be clearly labeled as thus and messages will also be published to nearby neighborhoods, ZIP and block pages so that other users in the immediate vicinity can also see them.
Currently, EveryBlock is only available in a select number of cities in the U.S., though the service plans to expand its reach in the near future. MSNBC acquired EveryBlock in August 2009.
Creating a 21st Century Community Message Board
As EveryBlock’s founder Adrian Holovaty noted in today’s announcement, the new feature is “intentionally open-ended.” EveryBlock wants to give its users the ability to send out announcements for “every imaginable purpose” and describes this new feature as a “21st century community message board.” To enhance this interaction between users, every place page on EveryBlock now also features a discussion board.
Overall, this is an important move for EveryBlock. The site is now more interactive than ever before. Thanks to these new user contributions, the information on the site will also now become even more timely and relevant, too.
