Nextdoor

Nextdoor
Web address www.nextdoor.com
Slogan The private social network for your neighborhood.
Type of site
 Social networking
Launched October 11, 2011 (2011-10-11)[1]

Nextdoor is a social networking service for neighborhoods. It was first launched in the United States; as of February 2016 the service became also available in The Netherlands.[2] Nextdoor allows users to connect with people who live in their neighborhood and nearby neighborhoods.

Nextdoor competes with other social networks such as Yelp, Yahoo Groups, Facebook and Google. It differentiates itself by limiting access to posts to the people in each neighborhood or those nearby, which can increase privacy.[3][4] It has been characterized by The Washington Post as part of a wave of community focus in the United States.[5]

History

Nextdoor was co-founded by Nirav Tolia, who based the company in San Francisco, California.[6] Tolia had previously helped start Epinions. Early investors include Benchmark Capital, Shasta Ventures, and Rich Barton. As of February 2014, Nextdoor had 80 to 100 employees.[7] In July 2012, Nextdoor raised $18.6M in venture capital funding.[8] Dan Clancy (ex Google) joined Nextdoor in February 2014.

Business model

Nextdoor is venture capital funded.[9] The company does not generate revenue yet.[10] Nextdoor intends in the future to earn income by facilitating the exchange of goods and services in a manner similar to Craigslist.[11] Recommendations of area resources are also provided, thus making it a competitor with another local services provider TaskRabbit. Chenda Ngak of CBS News has compared Nextdoor to a "College Bulletin Board."[4]

Before registering an account, prospective users verify their home address. Verification methods include providing a credit card or confirming a code mailed or phoned to the prospective user, although such methods are not foolproof. Nextdoor provides registered users with a list of neighbors who have also registered (users are required to provide their real name).[4] Nextdoor allows users to see which nearby residents are registered on the site, and to send postcards advertising the site to non-registered neighbors.[12]

Controversies

On May 14, 2014, Nirav Tolia, CEO of Nextdoor, was charged with felony hit-and-run for fleeing a crash on Highway 101 in Brisbane, California that left a woman injured.[13] The charge was reduced to a misdemeanor and Tolia pleaded no contest and was sentenced immediately to 30 days in county jail and a $239 fine.[14]

Author Pendarvis Harashaw has accused Nextdoor's members of engaging in 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 appointee in a gated community."[15] 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.[16] 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."[17]

Nick Wingfield of 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.[18]

References

  1. ↑ Rao, Leena (October 26, 2011). "Benchmark-Backed Nextdoor Launches As A Private Social Network For Neighborhoods". Tech Crunch. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  2. ↑ "facebook voor buren gelanceerd in nederland". Volkskrant. February 16, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  3. ↑ Delony, Doug (October 27, 2011). "New Social Network is Just for Neighbors". KRIV. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
  4. 1 2 3 Ngak, Chenda (October 27, 2011). "Nextdoor is a social network for real neighbors". CBS News. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
  5. ↑ Flock, Elizabeth (October 27, 2011). "NextDoor and UnThink: Two upstart social networks you may want to get to know". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
  6. ↑ Lee, Ellen (March 2, 2012). "Nextdoor offers online forum for neighborhoods". San Francisco Chronicle.
  7. ↑ Isaac, Mike (February 4, 2014). "Nextdoor Taps Google Vet Dan Clancy for VP of Engineering Post". Re/code. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
  8. ↑ Bopper, Ben (July 24, 2012). "Nextdoor, the social network for neighbors, raises $18.6 million to help Americans stop bowling alone". The Verge.
  9. ↑ Koh, Yoree (October 29, 2013). "Well-Heeled Neighbors: Nextdoor Raises $60 Million". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
  10. ↑ Help Center "About Nextdoor." Nextdoor.com. (Retrieved 3-31-2015).
  11. ↑ Scott, Martin (October 26, 2011). "Nextdoor comes knocking with neighborhood network". USA Today. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
  12. ↑ Chapman, Glenn (October 27, 2011). "Nextdoor launches neighborhood social networks". AFP. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
  13. ↑ Lee, Henry K (May 14, 2014) "Police-friendly tech CEO charged with hit-and-run." San Francisco Chronicle. (Retrieved 4-17-2014.)
  14. ↑ Ellen Huet (June 13, 2014). "Nextdoor CEO Nirav Tolia Pleads No Contest To Reduced Charge In Hit-And-Run". Forbes. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
  15. ↑ Harshaw, Pendarvis (March 21, 2015) "Nextdoor, the social network for neighbors, is becoming a home for racial profiling." Fusion.net. (Retrieved 3-31-2015).
  16. ↑ Sam,Levin (October 7, 2015) Racial Profiling via Nextdoor.com East Bay Express. (Retrieved 10-24-2015).
  17. ↑ Nextdoor Guidelines FAQ, Nexdoor.com
  18. ↑ Nick, Wingfield (October 26, 2011). "There Posts the Neighborhood". The New York Times. Retrieved November 2, 2011.

External links

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