In the vibrant city of San Francisco, where urban enthusiasts thrive on the details of the city, Pursarth Tuladhar is embarking on a distinctive mission: to map every community bulletin board available.
From dog walkers to piano teachers, if there’s a notice pinned on a café cork board, Tuladhar has likely encountered it or intends to soon.
So far, he has identified around 100 bulletin boards, with about 70 percent located in laundromats, while others are situated in parks, public squares, and even on the exterior wall of a home on Irving Street, which has become one of his favorite spots.
His estimates suggest that the city might hold at least another 50 to 100 bulletin boards that he has yet to discover.
In a city populated by tech start-up enthusiasts, Tuladhar’s undertaking may not be as whimsical as it seems.
He envisions these varied postings, whether they advertise house painting services or chakra alignment, as potential clientele for his startup, which focuses on building websites for small businesses.
Born in Nepal and educated in New Jersey, he made his way to San Francisco, the epicenter of innovation and technology, after a cross-country drive.
With over a decade of experience in online marketing, his fascination with community bulletin boards serves a dual purpose: a personal passion as well as a strategic marketing approach.
However, Tuladhar remains uncertain about the potential business benefits of this endeavor.
He explained, “I don’t know if there’s much of a business gain for us.”
His process is straightforward: he selects one or two neighborhoods and visits local businesses that he believes are community-oriented.
This approach, while not the most efficient, has yielded positive results.
Recently, he reached out on Reddit with a photo collage and a request for assistance, receiving several valuable tips in return.
During a chat over coffee in the Inner Sunset neighborhood, just a block away from the Irving Street bulletin board, Tuladhar discussed aspects of local businesses, bulletin board etiquette, and the essence of community-oriented neighborhoods.
He shared that his startup assists local service businesses in constructing their websites, utilizing ChatGPT to create copy and templates.
Tuladhar remarked that his focus has primarily been on individuals posting notices on bulletin boards, noting, “They don’t have storefronts, have no online marketing skills, and zero marketing budget. That’s how this whole thing started.”
His quest for bulletin boards emerged from the assumption that a list of these resources existed somewhere online.
Upon realizing that no comprehensive list was available, he decided to create one himself.
Tuladhar mapped out days to explore various neighborhoods, primarily focusing on main streets, where he discovered that laundromats are popular venues for bulletin boards.
After collecting over 100 sites, he created a Reddit post seeking additional locations, which received a surprisingly warm response from the online community.
Equipped with his bicycle, he has committed to capturing each bulletin board across the city.
He estimates there are easily another 50 to 100 waiting to be uncovered.
In neighborhoods he defines as “neighborly neighborhoods,” such as Bernal Heights, he noted a particularly high concentration of boards.
He pointed out that places like Bernal Bubbles even feature organized boards for community events and services.
On the flip side, Tuladhar observed that not all coffee shops or grocery stores accommodate bulletin boards, often because they cater to tourists.
He also noted that while public libraries may have these boards, they typically allow only notices for their own events and nonprofits.
During his exploration, he visited the Golden Gate Park office, only to find that they didn’t keep track of bulletin board locations, leaving him to embark on a scavenger hunt through the park to locate them.
When asked about what encourages businesses to install bulletin boards, Tuladhar admitted, “I haven’t had a chance to ask. But it’s like a first line of marketing; it doesn’t cost anything.”
He envisions running a campaign to encourage local businesses to install boards if they have spare wall space, believing it a beneficial way to foster community interaction and increase foot traffic.
Reflecting on the impact of the internet and services like Craigslist that diminished traditional classified ads, he noted, “In a way, the community bulletin board is the last vestige.”
His expertise in online marketing reveals a concerning trend: as digital channels become oversaturated, especially with soaring advertising costs, the advantages of community bulletin boards may gain renewed relevance.
Tuladhar shared that, for instance, recent Google ads for cleaning services have elevated cost-per-click rates to between $5 and $6 in San Francisco, a price point out of reach for many small businesses.
When asked whether any research exists on the effectiveness of bulletin board notices, he highlighted the challenge of tracking whether leads come from a flyer, especially when the same message is dispersed across multiple locations.
Tuladhar explained the complexities surrounding this form of marketing: “You would have to customize every flyer for every board. Tracking is hard, but online marketing is very easy. You can track everything down to the foot.”
As he considers the potential for collaborating with additional local cafés or attractive businesses to set up bulletin boards, he remains skeptical about immediate business gains for his startup.
His goal supports local service businesses while inadvertently developing brand awareness, positioning his company as the one mapping local bulletin boards and aiding small-scale promotions for neighborhood services.
Additionally, he expressed frustration at the way certain flyers are posted, especially those using paper tabs for tear-off contact details.
“I’m like, ‘Bro, come on. It’s 2025. Just put a damn QR code up there,’” he commented, envisioning it as an opportunity for these individuals to engage with his site.
In his experiences, he has encountered guidelines from business owners about posting, including prohibitions on politics and religion.
He has observed that bulletin board etiquette often boils down to respecting the space provided by the business owner.
Tuladhar recounted conversations with shopkeepers asking that the community not use excessive tape or staples on cork boards.
To assist in maintaining good practices, he has even published a blog post outlining nine rules for bulletin board etiquette, focusing on aspects such as seeking approval from business owners, refraining from stapling on cork boards, and respecting other postings without double posting.
Reflecting on his previous roles, including work with TaskRabbit, he noted the connection between that platform and the community bulletin boards.
He recalled his experience with a startup focused on home cleaning, emphasizing the ease of establishing such businesses and the fact they often rely on the local community, frequently involving first-generation immigrants.
While noting one peculiar posting in Cole Valley regarding dating women, he shared amusement at the diversity of content found on the boards.
Tuladhar discussed the potential of employing AI to analyze photographs of the bulletin boards, however, he cautioned against the reality of AI overpromising its capabilities.
He stated, “I think the boards of information are a mess… AI makes mistakes and pretends it didn’t make them.”
Despite the challenges, he foresees that should an AI program summarize the various postings, he would share those insights on his blog without pushing for sales.
He believes that creating educational content about the local bulletin boards would engage the community without overwhelming them with marketing.
The adventure of mapping community bulletin boards not only highlights the fabric of San Francisco’s neighborhoods but also creates a bridge between traditional marketing methods and the digital world.
Through his efforts, Tuladhar champions a movement that encourages connection among local businesses while reaffirming the enduring value of community in an increasingly digital landscape.
image source from：thefrisc
