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I don't use Nextdoor or the Neighbors app but I get the impression that they work in a similar fashion - get the worried people in the area all worked up about

I don't use Nextdoor or the Neighbors app but I get the impression that they work in a similar fashion - get the worried people in the area all worked up about every little thing - keep them thinking they are under constant threat.

hermitdev 5y ago
I have a Ring and the Neighbors app. 99% of the "incidents" are people sharing the coyote or fox in their yard, scared about the "rabid wolf" in their yard. Meanwhile we've actually had a murder, bank robbery and dead body found in a park in the last 3 months, and only a quick bleep about any of those incidents. The app, or rather the "community" behind it, is worthless for any "news" or public safety alerts. If it wasn't integrated with the app to view my own camera's feeds, it would be gone from my phone. Any time there is anything of note, it's filled with garbage nonsense comments that are at best terrible attempts at humor, or vile and repugnant at worst. -10/10, would not recommend.
- spamizbad 5y ago
  Our local Nextdoor is similar. Someone called 911 on a deer. When he was asked "It's a deer, why did you call 911?" he stated a charging deer could easily kill a child. Which is something that while technically true, deer only tend to kill people when it involves vehicle accidents (car strikes deer) - not because a deer trampled am unsupervised toddler.
FireBeyond 5y ago
Holy cow, the single biggest benefit to Nextdoor? Learning which of your neighbors are racist or otherwise ... problematic. "Suspicious person on Elm Street, lock your cars!" is usually thinly veiled "I saw someone black walking their dog". It's horrific at times.
- spankyspangler 5y ago
  Have you ever stopped to wonder whether you have been similarly goaded into believing your neighborhood is flush with nazis and white supremacists?
jeffbee 5y ago
This is 100% the NextDoor model. They hype up crime reports and sell adverts for ADT on the other hand.
- asimpletune 5y ago
  Actually I think this is the biggest thing stopping them from mass adoption. Nextdoor knows they have a problem I think they’re doing their best to fix it. It’s really just the early adopters are of a particular persuasion and it gives exactly the idea that you’re describing. So this is obviously problematic for them because they are actually hope to basically be a better craigslist one day.
  - jeffbee 5y ago
    I think they do it on purpose. The only way to push alerts to users’ apps is with a “safety alert”. The only way you can post to your whole city is in the crime and safety category. The amplification of fear is built-in.
    - aseipp 5y ago
      Also, the idea NextDoor has a desire to "reform" their userbase or target market or whatever is something I simply don't believe unless definitively proven otherwise, if it's even possible. The entire premise of the OP is an app that realized it could literally sell fear to people and profit! Why should anyone believe NextDoor is different, especially when the prevailing meme is that it's mostly the same already? The second the numbers come back and say "Selling fear will make the most money in the long run", they'll absolutely go in on it whole-heartedly, if they haven't already. It's strange, but I suspect that all the various business models that revolve around "Turn every single person in society into a policeman in a panopticon" might just be fundamentally bad, and not capable of reform or realignment.
Spooky23 5y ago
I got involved with Nextdoor as I’m on a board for a community organization and would answer questions, etc. Our city’s Nextdoor is pretty great, the biggest annoyance are the people focused on cats and their various woes. Recently Nextdoor decided to mix it up and started making changes allowing some limited visibility of surrounding suburbs. Oh boy. The mix of superiority and fear in the suburbanites are incredible. They are angry about a county bike trail because “undesirables” may bike into their town. There’s petitions in opposition to turn lanes on a roadway for some batshit reasons, racist comments about players on a city high school baseball team, etc. Bikes and bike lanes are particularly contentious, which is weird because kids out there bike everywhere. (Worried about undesirable people again) It’s a really aspect of society that I honestly never witnessed in person.

hermitdev 5y ago

I have a Ring and the Neighbors app. 99% of the "incidents" are people sharing the coyote or fox in their yard, scared about the "rabid wolf" in their yard. Meanwhile we've actually had a murder, bank robbery and dead body found in a park in the last 3 months, and only a quick bleep about any of those incidents. The app, or rather the "community" behind it, is worthless for any "news" or public safety alerts. If it wasn't integrated with the app to view my own camera's feeds, it would be gone from my phone. Any time there is anything of note, it's filled with garbage nonsense comments that are at best terrible attempts at humor, or vile and repugnant at worst. -10/10, would not recommend.

spamizbad 5y ago
Our local Nextdoor is similar. Someone called 911 on a deer. When he was asked "It's a deer, why did you call 911?" he stated a charging deer could easily kill a child. Which is something that while technically true, deer only tend to kill people when it involves vehicle accidents (car strikes deer) - not because a deer trampled am unsupervised toddler.

FireBeyond 5y ago

Holy cow, the single biggest benefit to Nextdoor? Learning which of your neighbors are racist or otherwise ... problematic. "Suspicious person on Elm Street, lock your cars!" is usually thinly veiled "I saw someone black walking their dog". It's horrific at times.

spankyspangler 5y ago
Have you ever stopped to wonder whether you have been similarly goaded into believing your neighborhood is flush with nazis and white supremacists?

jeffbee 5y ago

This is 100% the NextDoor model. They hype up crime reports and sell adverts for ADT on the other hand.

asimpletune 5y ago
Actually I think this is the biggest thing stopping them from mass adoption. Nextdoor knows they have a problem I think they’re doing their best to fix it. It’s really just the early adopters are of a particular persuasion and it gives exactly the idea that you’re describing. So this is obviously problematic for them because they are actually hope to basically be a better craigslist one day.
- jeffbee 5y ago
  I think they do it on purpose. The only way to push alerts to users’ apps is with a “safety alert”. The only way you can post to your whole city is in the crime and safety category. The amplification of fear is built-in.
  - aseipp 5y ago
    Also, the idea NextDoor has a desire to "reform" their userbase or target market or whatever is something I simply don't believe unless definitively proven otherwise, if it's even possible. The entire premise of the OP is an app that realized it could literally sell fear to people and profit! Why should anyone believe NextDoor is different, especially when the prevailing meme is that it's mostly the same already? The second the numbers come back and say "Selling fear will make the most money in the long run", they'll absolutely go in on it whole-heartedly, if they haven't already. It's strange, but I suspect that all the various business models that revolve around "Turn every single person in society into a policeman in a panopticon" might just be fundamentally bad, and not capable of reform or realignment.

Spooky23 5y ago

I got involved with Nextdoor as I’m on a board for a community organization and would answer questions, etc. Our city’s Nextdoor is pretty great, the biggest annoyance are the people focused on cats and their various woes. Recently Nextdoor decided to mix it up and started making changes allowing some limited visibility of surrounding suburbs. Oh boy. The mix of superiority and fear in the suburbanites are incredible. They are angry about a county bike trail because “undesirables” may bike into their town. There’s petitions in opposition to turn lanes on a roadway for some batshit reasons, racist comments about players on a city high school baseball team, etc. Bikes and bike lanes are particularly contentious, which is weird because kids out there bike everywhere. (Worried about undesirable people again) It’s a really aspect of society that I honestly never witnessed in person.