Nextdoor is a private social network for your neighborhood
Are you looking for a way to keep in touch with others in your neighborhood when the need to share news or events happen? Well the Nextdoor app was created just for that purpose. The site boasts over 170,000 active neighborhoods on the website. To join a neighborhood site you have to prove you live in the neighborhood and you have to use your real name. Using your real name creates a barrier against the unpleasantness of online anonymity that we are all familiar with.
Rosta Farazan, an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburg and researcher of online communities’ states that the main draw to community-based sites is mobilization. According to Farazan, “Mobilization means you need something and you want to leverage local resources to achieve it.” This may range from needing a recommendation for a plumber to reporting vehicle break-ins in the neighborhood.
However the Detroit Police Department is asking citizens who have doorbell cameras and other video surveillance systems not to post those videos on social media until the police have been involved. The Detroit Free Press is saying that police are warning citizens that posting images of suspects involved in crimes may create unnecessary hysteria, especially if an arrest has been made that the public doesn’t know about.
There are several other uses and benefits to users especially from their local government. Local messaging can take place from a town or city official if they are going to begin a construction project that will disrupt the flow of traffic in a certain area of town. Those residents can be contacted directly to advise them of the disruption before it happens. Local Police can disseminate neighborhood watch information and citizens can contact their local police departments to report suspicious activity.
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