It’s a Powerful App. Yet the Question Remains Does Nextdoor Provide Comfort and Opportunity?
There’s no doubt that our smartphones are fast becoming a lens through which we see the world. This is, in large part, due to the many apps that consume our phone’s on-board memory and our precious time. So I wasn’t surprised when a client of mine asked an interesting question “Does Nextdoor provide comfort and opportunity, or angst?”. It made me think and do a little investigation.
Like billions around the world, I have an app for just about everything in the world on my Galaxy Note 5 (yep, I’m ole school). Yet, I use only about 10% (That may be a bit of an exaggeration to make me feel good. It’s actually more like 3%) of these mini-programs on a daily and/or weekly basis. Like chocolate, my apps provide comfort. But only to a degree.
Every once in a while, I sift through the pages of apps on my phone and look to purge those I rarely use. I also make sure those I do use, do not mysteriously disappear.
Most recently, the Nextdoor app that I rarely used a year ago, has cracked the top 3% “most viewed” apps on my phone…But why?
Nextdoor App Equals Pinpoint Relevance?
Having immediate access to the pulse of my neighborhood is dream come true to me. As a long time resident of the Belmont Heights, I loved knowing what was happening around me. The Nextdoor app is a wealth of information that I I’ve put to use in my everyday life. It is a way to get to know my neighbors. It’s also a cool tool to identify items neighbors are selling in a timely manner.
Provide Comfort and News at Warp Speed
With a simple quick pic and a few taps on your smart phone, relevant news and happenings around the neighborhood can be uploaded for people in your immediate vicinity to view. It is the ultimate neighborhood watch of the 21st century even usurping the local newspaper. And, not a surprise, marketers also take advantage of this technological portal – but in a way where I have some control over how I engage. But does it strengthen a community?
So What’s the Downside?
With all the positive upsides with the nextdoor app, there are some downsides. It can be addicting like many apps on our phone (i.e. Instagram, snapchat and facebook). It can also send false misleading information like wildfire. I see posts of suspicious cars, people and animals that turn out to be anything but suspicious. In this fragile era of suspicion and recoil (a result of the political climate), what we see in the nextdoor app can quickly stoke a level of fear, making us suspicious of everything in our midst. The level of angst in our neighborhoods today is palpable. As one who’s job it is to be in the know about our Long Beach neighborhoods, I wonder if I’ve been targeted as a suspicious person.
Proceed with Optimistic Caution
Like chocolate ice cream and binge streaming, moderation and control is in my opinion, the ideal path when it comes to the Nextdoor app. Know what you are posting and have somewhat of an idea how it is going to be receive. Used with wholesome intent, the Nextdoor app can be a great tool for understanding and knowing your neighborhood, neighbors and what is going on around you.
Please feel free to give me a call anytime at 562-618-9770 or email dave@davesellslongbeach.com with other uses of the Nextdoor app that make it a must use tool in the future.
Dave Harbison has been a Real Estate Practitioner in Long Beach and surrounding communities. He regularly contributes to blogs, news outlets and other media. He continuously provides insight to home owners, buyers and sellers in the Long Beach and surrounding communities. Dave Harbison Long Beach REALTOR® dave@davesellslongbeach.com
DRE:#01475840 — Long Beach Realtor® / Real Estate Agent Long Beach Homes for Sale, Condos and Investment Properties
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