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I was hesitant with NextDoor but I've found they do in fact provide very real value. At least for living in a city like San Francisco where you're not likely t

I was hesitant with NextDoor but I've found they do in fact provide very real value. At least for living in a city like San Francisco where you're not likely to actually know many of your neighbors. My only concern is that it's starting to turn into a FUD (fear, uncertainty, and death) distribution machine. Pando Daily gave them a great review for keeping neighbors informed about crime[1]. However, now crime, muggings, etc are most of what I see on the site. Has my neighborhood suddenly become significantly less safe? Why don't I actually see this increase anywhere around me? Am I just that unaware or is this just a lot of noise? I don't actually have an answer, but it raises the question: is this actually good for me to consume or is this just the go to place to be afraid of your neighborhood? That said, I've gotten great advice on where to find live dungeness crab in the city through the site. [1] http://pandodaily.com/2013/01/22/nextdoors-unexpected-killer-use-case-crime-and-safety/ http://pandodaily.com/2013/01/22/nextdoors-unexpected-killer...

danso 14y ago
FWIW, your complaints that crime-information has taken over the site discussion could be applied to every news source in the history of news. Hence, the saying, "If it bleeds, it leads"
matthavener 14y ago
I'm using nextdoor in my neighborhood and its great. Non-technical folks are signed up and chatting with each other, sharing tips on local businesses and neighborhood crime.
ianb 14y ago
I think the FUD aspect is unfortunately just part of the kind of communication it facilitates. Neighborhood mailing lists, blogs, Facebook groups – they all end up spreading information about crime in a way that makes the neighborhood feel less safe. If there's a solution to this, I think it would be social instead of technical. Also at a certain point as the neighborhood communication matures it gets better, IMHO – people need to learn how best to communicate with each other, and there's no other way to do that than practice.

danso 14y ago

FWIW, your complaints that crime-information has taken over the site discussion could be applied to every news source in the history of news. Hence, the saying, "If it bleeds, it leads"

matthavener 14y ago

I'm using nextdoor in my neighborhood and its great. Non-technical folks are signed up and chatting with each other, sharing tips on local businesses and neighborhood crime.

ianb 14y ago

I think the FUD aspect is unfortunately just part of the kind of communication it facilitates. Neighborhood mailing lists, blogs, Facebook groups – they all end up spreading information about crime in a way that makes the neighborhood feel less safe. If there's a solution to this, I think it would be social instead of technical. Also at a certain point as the neighborhood communication matures it gets better, IMHO – people need to learn how best to communicate with each other, and there's no other way to do that than practice.