Local2Me website gets more national recognition

By Wes Bowers
The Enquirer-Bulletin (SF Bay Area Peninsula Cities)
February 23, 2002

BELMONT - A small website initially created to connect local neighbors has turned into a national phenomenon.

Local2Me.com, the website created a little more than a year ago to connect neighbors in San Carlos, Belmont and Redwood City, was featured last weekend on the Public Broadcasting System's Net Cafe on KTEH 54 as one of the country's innovative websites.

The website creator, Michael Olivier, was invited to the taping after PBS Net Cafe producers read about one of the site's success stories.

Belmont resident Diane Harris asked her neighbors through the website to donate toys and clothing so she could take them to underprivileged children in Mexico over the Christmas holiday. The request was a success, as hundreds of residents and some local merchants donated to her cause.

When PBS got wind of how Harris had accomplished the feat, they contacted Olivier, he said.

Although Local2Me.com is only featured for five minutes on the program, Olivier said that he had no problem deciding how best to promote what his site has done in just a little over a year.

"I talked about Diane's toy drive, the local book club that was formed shortly after the site had been created," he said. "In preparation for the show I e-mailed people asking for comments and feedback about the site and got back about 10 pages worth of comments and success stories."

One of those success stories was from Belmont resident Lisa Taner, who warned her neighbors via Local2Me about a bogus pest control company.

Apparently, the pest control company Taner hired was charging her for work, even though the exterminator had not been to the house in over six months.

The company had also refused to refund any money or give Taner a break on future work. So she put the word out over Local2Me about the company's practices, and actually got a response from another property owner, thanking her for the heads-up.

"I had a bad experience with a vendor on my property and wanted everyone to know about their bad service," she said. "I think it was a lot better than having my neighbors hire them and find out the hard way that the vendor wasn't so great."

Taner has been a member of Local2Me.com since the beginning and said it has been a great service to her and her family.

"It's helped me communicate in ways that seem very simple," she said. "I've received recommendations for the simplest things like hair stylists and restaurants, to making the community aware about meetings regarding the San Carlos Airport. It's a really useful tool for communicating."

Although the site was originally created to be used by locals, Taner isn't surprised that the site has earned recognition in areas outside the Bay Area.

"It's one of the many uses of the Internet," she said. "I think in about 10 years it will be like the phone book. We'll take it for granted. It's one of those things you never really think about but it's always there as a resource."

Taner added that she hopes the website will be available to her once she and her family move to the East Bay.

That shouldn't be a problem - the website has members from all around the state as well as the country. "It's now available all around the country," said Olivier. "Most of the people signed up are from the Bay Area, but we're starting to get members from all over."

Olivier hopes the PBS program, which aired on 100 channels across the country on Sunday, will help the site gain even more recognition.

"It's just great to be getting the word out there and connecting with all types of people," he said. "It's like you can kind of throw away your yellow pages now because neighbors are referring places and ideas to you."