LocalCircles community based social media platform enabling citizens in Delhi/NCR to look out for each other
From solving colony problems to neighbors coming together and from finding Emergency Assistance easily to Saving Lives, citizens of Delhi/NCR are utilizing Social Media as a Utility
New Delhi, India, September 5, 2013 – LocalCircles (www.localcircles.com), the world’s first comprehensive local social network that enables local community building, shared today that citizens of Delhi/NCR are using its platform in many unique ways to find solutions to daily life challenges.
"LocalCircles enabled us to find an ENT specialist within minutes when my eight year old woke up with a major ear pain few months ago", said Ms. Deepti Salil, Director at Mediaguru and a mother residing in Noida. "The best part was finding such a reliable recommendation at 7am coming from the local community around me and such a good ENT specialist who lives only a kilometer away from my home", she said. "I don’t think I would have crossed paths with that ENT had it been not for LocalCircles", continued Ms. Salil.
"The LocalCircles network was of great help when my house in Vasant Vihar was flooded in late July due to the drains blockage during heavy rains" said Ms. Rekha Khosla. "It was great to see fellow Vasant Vihar residents and the RWA members all coming together to help. Someone had the contact information of the Delhi Jal Board area engineer, someone else knew about the online complaint system or the grievance redressal system and how through a collective effort the sewage problem was fixed that same day", she said. "Getting the Government departments to act so fast is not easy when it is raining heavily but together we were able to do it, thanks to LocalCircles and my fellow residents/RWA", continued Ms Khosla.
"This idea of LocalCircles is a unique one. You join various health, need, interest, workplace and neighborhood circles connecting with real people of all ages who are local", said Col. Raja Chandra. " I am 82 years old, currently visiting my son in USA, but in touch with my fellow residents in GK II and other local people in Delhi/NCR through LocalCircles, he said" To my mind, LocalCircles can revolutionize the means of communication in days to come for the benefit of local communities", continued Col. Chandra.
"In less than a month, the Blood circle on LocalCircles has become the largest local online community on Blood in Delhi/NCR and has saved 6 lives already by enabling Blood seekers to find Donors within minutes to a few hours", said Mr. Sudarshan Agarwal, Chairman of Rotary Blood Bank and Former Governor of Uttarakhand and Sikkim states in India. "Rotary Blood Bank is pleased to be an integral partner in the Blood circle", he said. "There couldn’t be a better example of innovation, technology and a social cause coming together for the benefit of the local community, continued Mr. Agarwal.
"Through association with the Bhagidari Cell of Delhi Government, LocalCircles is making its platform available to every colony and society in Delhi", said Mr. Kulanand Joshi, Additional Secretary to Chief Minister of Delhi and Head of the Bhagidari Cell, Government of NCT of Delhi. "We urge every Resident Welfare Association (RWA) in Delhi to connect the residents of its colony in a Neighborhood circle on LocalCircles and enable programs like Neighborhood Watch", he said. "This is an easy way to rebuild the sense of community and to enable neighbors to look out for each other", continued Mr. Joshi.
"The LocalCircles team in India and United States is heartened to see its platform being used in meaningful ways by citizens of Delhi/NCR", said Sachin Taparia, Chairman of LocalCircles. "Having experienced daily urban life in India first hand and the struggles of finding information/assistance, our team believed that local people could help each other if it was made easy and there was accountability towards each other", he said. "A conversation with Reid Hoffman, Executive Chairman of Linkedin (world’s largest professional network) and a social media expert, also helped in confirming our belief and starting LocalCircles. Reid suggested to us that context based social media when utilized to address local challenges has the potential to provide solutions in the future and even more so in emerging markets", continued Taparia.
"Based on the observations of last few months, we are now convinced that community based real identity social media has a lot of potential in driving positive change in cities of India and making daily urban life easier, safer and better", added Taparia. "We now have to work with the right partners in scaling LocalCircles and making it available to more people and cities in the coming months and years", continued Taparia
Recently, LocalCircles has made 6 circles available to all citizens of Delhi/NCR:
- All about BLOOD in Delhi/NCR for Blood Donors and Seekers (with 1800+ Committed Local Blood Donors)
- All about Healthy Living & Diet in Delhi/NCR (with 15+ local Doctors/Healthcare Experts)
- All about Pediatrics and Parenting in Delhi/NCR (with 15+ local Doctors/Child Experts)
- All about Women Matters in Delhi/NCR (with 15+ Women Doctors/Experts)
- All about Citizen Services in Delhi/NCR
- All about Senior Citizens in Delhi/NCR
All citizens of Delhi/NCR are welcome to go to http://www.localcircles.com, sign up and submit their request to join one or more of the above circles or their neighborhood circle.
