Can Hyperlocal Apps Actually Make Us Interact With Our Neighbors?

The idea that neighbors might want the food you won’t eat might seem far fetched depending on where you live. Yet the hyperlocal food sharing app called Olio just picked up another $6 million in funding and has already expanded to over 40 countries with rapid growth. More than 400,000 food items have been shared since the app started with everyone from students to local shops raving about the experience. It turns out people hate to throw away perfectly good food – and stories like the user who feasted on unwanted food and reduced her weekly food bill to less than $10 by using the app provide viral examples that it works. When you put this together with the rise in hyperlocal startups and Google’s recent launch of hyperlocal app Neighbourly in India, it points to the idea that after years of helping us connect with friends everywhere in the world, technology might finally be helping us actually get to know and interact with the people right next door.