Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: nextdoor.com?

[David Mandel (dlmandel]

I advise being wary about nextdoor.com. For one thing, know it's a
for-profit social media site.

It hit our neighborhood a couple of years ago and quickly became a site
dominated by police and amateur crime fighters, focused on "suspicious
activity." I quickly dropped off and so did a number of my neighbors. I'm
sure not all neighborhood versions revert to that, clearly it can depend on
how it's used in each locale. But I just did a little Googling and found this
site <http://www.sitejabber.com/reviews/www.nextdoor.com> with lots of
negative reviews citing a wide variety of problems, including many of the
type I observed.
Here's part of the section on "controversies" from its Wikipedia entry:

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nextdoor#cite_note-13>

*Author Pendarvis Harashaw has accused Nextdoor's members of engaging in
racial profiling <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racial_profiling>: "While
Nextdoor's ability to assist in crime-spotting has been celebrated as its
'killer feature' by tech pundits, the app is also facilitating some of the
same racial profiling we see playing out in cities across the country.
Rather than bridging gaps between neighbors, Nextdoor can become a forum
for paranoid racialism—the equivalent of the nosy Neighborhood Watch
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neighborhood_Watch> appointee in a gated
community."[14] <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nextdoor#cite_note-14> Sam
Levin of the East Bay Express did a detailed story of the harm caused by
racial profiling and problems with moderators on Nextdoor.com in Oakland
California.[15] <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nextdoor#cite_note-15>
Nextdoor has guidelines against postings that are discriminatory or engage
in profiling, saying, "it's inappropriate to report suspicious activity in
a way that focuses primarily on the appearance of those involved rather
than their actions."[16]
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nextdoor#cite_note-16>*

*Nick Wingfield of The New York Times
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_York_Times> worried that the site
may "be used to publicly shame" neighbors or lead to "snarky messages"
between residents. Nextdoor leadership has maintained that the presence of
real names helps maintain civil behavior among users.[17]
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nextdoor#cite_note-nyt-17>*
David Mandel, Sacramento

On Mon, Jan 4, 2016 at 9:21 PM, Ann Zabaldo <zabaldo [at] earthlink.net> wrote:

>
> Hello all -
>
> This is one of those inventive ideas that I suggest for people seeking
> community where they live RIGHT NOW.
>
> One of my friends has gotten involved in nextdoor.com.  I was fixin’ to
> write about it in the Mid Atlantic Cohousing newsletter but this is a great
> opportunity to start a thread.
>
> As I understand nextdoor.com, this software puts you in touch w/
> neighbors near you seeking connection.  I think this is very cool. Whatever
> increases connection among neighbors is terrific.    What happens after the
> connections are made and the 50 homes identified becomes dependent on those
> who are in the group.  This has some of the flavor of The Villages or
> Meetup.
>
> Chris  — how do you see this being used to create cohousing?
>
> Best --
>
> Ann Zabaldo
> Takoma Village Cohousing
> Washington, DC
> Principal, Cohousing Collaborative, LLC
> Falls Church, VA
> 703.688.2646
>
>
> > On Jan 4, 2016, at 8:55 PM, Chris Rowe <chr [at] rowe.com> wrote:
> >
> >
> > Has anyone looked at nextdoor.com as a possible tool for cohousing
> > communities? They currently have a minimum household size of 50 for a
> > "neighborhood" but it seems like something that could be a good option if
> > they allowed smaller communities to us it.
> > _________________________________________________________________
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>
>
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