About

Imagine a place where New Zealanders could connect the way neighbours used to in the good old days. A place where we could share knowledge, opinions, advice and things like the glut of citrus fruit that lies around under trees in the winter.

We did just that and we came up with Foghorn, a free email notification service that lets you be a neighbour to anyone, anywhere in the country.

It’s the place to give away or ask for that fruit you see rotting under trees. It’s the place you can find an expert or a know-it-all to help you out. Need 10 bearded men for a TVC shoot? An egg donor? A Flamenco tutor or a new flatmate? Foghorn is the place to ask. Need an alibi? Place a notice in Foghorn. Party surprises, carpool, baby names, part-time work, old recipes, courting, food and trivia … it’s all about sharing local knowledge, goods, services and just plain old stuff you don’t need any more.

Foghorn is deliberately low-tech – you don’t have to complete lengthy application forms, offer up your first male heir, or create a user profile to access or place a notice in it.

Foghorn is collective wisdom, out loud … but best of all, Foghorn is free.

It can be like Christmas in the middle of the year, or committing a drive-by random act of kindness.
Sign up for the regular Foghorn email blast and be entertained, amused and maybe even fed.

 

 

QUESTIONS?

WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?

Simple, really – here’s an example: a friend loves grapefruit but she doesn’t have a grapefruit tree. All around are grapefruit trees with the fruit rotting on the ground. My friend would be overwhelmingly grapeful (sorry) if she could collect the unwanted fruit. The citizen-overwhelmed-by-grapefruit would be relieved of the odour and mess of rotting citrus fruit and my friend would be happiness-filled. Heck, she’d even share the fruit with other equally grapeful people.

SOUNDS A BIT TOUCHY-FEELY

Maybe it is, but that warm feeling you get from helping someone is so good for your health it could add minutes to your life. We like to think of it as the kind of self-gratification you’d be happy to tell your mother about.

IS IT JUST ABOUT FOOD AND PLANTS?

Not at all. You can advertise things like your school fair, or request a recipe or a carpool. If you missed an episode of a favourite television programme you may even find someone who taped it. Looking for a husband? You may well find him on Foghorn. If you have a question Google can’t help you with there’s every chance someone on the Foghorn list can … and if they can’t we can all have fun trying.

HOW DO I PLACE A NOTICE?

Simple. You can place a notice in Foghorn by clicking here.

IS THERE ANYTHING YOU DON’T ALLOW?

All ads (or notices as we like to call them) are accepted and published at our discretion. Here’s some ‘finer’ print: You must not list anything that is illegal, offensive (including anything of a defamatory, pornographic, racially or ethnically objectionable nature), stolen, or unsafe, anything which infringes copyright or other intellectual property rights. Basically, please don’t try to list anything which is prohibited by, or violates, any law.

YOU SEEM TO WRITE A LOT ABOUT YOURSELF.

Well an entire blog about free grapefruit would start to get a bit samey after a while. If you want to break things up a bit feel free to write about yourself and send it in (just fill in a notice form).

AND YOU’RE DOING THIS FOR FREE?

Yes, but you can help out by giving us some link love  — http://foghorn.co.nz  — and by sharing Foghorn with your friends and encouraging them to sign up to receive the Foghorn blast.