Why Use NextDoor?

by classicalgeek

If you haven't signed up for NextDoor.com, you may want to give it a try!

With the internet, it's trivially easy to connect to people all around the world. But wouldn't it be nice to connect with your neighbors just a street or two away? Enter NextDoor.com, a site where only your neighbors can see your posts.

But why would you want only your neighbors to see your posts, and not everyone in the world? There are many reasons!

What is NextDoor?

NextDoor.com is a website dedicated to only your local community. Only people in your neighborhood and neighborhoods surrounding yours can see the posts you make.

Now why would you want to participate in a site that is so limited? Easy. NextDoor is great for things such as:

  • finding a lost pet
  • advertising your garage sale (or finding ones in your neighborhood)
  • looking for recommendations for local services (pet-sitting, plumbers, music teachers)
  • getting up a local special-interest group (wine tastings, exercise, crafting)
  • receiving announcements about local events (do you know what's happening at the library this week?)
  • getting to know your neighbors
  • crime awareness and prevention

Because only your neighbors can see you, your personal information is not going out to the world at large. This is why NextDoor is so ingenious!

What Does it Cost?

NextDoor is completely free, and doesn't even have advertising, so there's nothing to distract you from using the site. You can opt to receive email digests if you like, or simply visit the site when you wish. You can also opt to receive an email when someone replies to a post that you have made (so if you post a notice about your lost dog, you'll get an email each time someone replies to that post). These settings can be changed at any time, so you can configure the notices to your liking.

How Do I Sign Up?

Simply follow this link to sign up for NextDoor. You will be asked to verify your identity and address through one of a number of means (to make sure what neighborhood you really are in), and then you will be ready to go.

Each neighborhood is different, so it's best to read through a number of posts from your neighbors first before posting yourself, to see what kind of character your neighborhood has. Because these are people close to you, you don't want to offend them by spamming your business, or engaging in highly controversial topics, unless such things are encouraged in your particular neighborhood.

What Happens in My Neighborhood, Stays in My Neighborhood

Another benefit of NextDoor is even though it is possible to post to your neighborhood and the surrounding neighborhoods, you always have a choice of which neighborhoods will see each individual post. So while you can restrict your lost dog to your immediate neighbors, you might want to advertise your garage sale or special-interest group a little more widely. You can easily include or exclude certain neighborhoods for each post, so you are always in control!

Updated: 07/13/2015, classicalgeek
 
Thank you! Would you like to post a comment now?
6

Comments

Only logged-in users are allowed to comment. Login
blackspanielgallery on 07/23/2015

I can think of many uses for such a site. Thanks for spreading the word.

Mira on 07/16/2015

You're right. It can be pretty useful :)

classicalgeek on 07/14/2015

When I lived in rural areas, I mostly knew my neighbors pretty well (I didn't have any that would shoot me with varmint guns when I came to their door). The amount of information that you share is up to you; but when your car breaks down and you need to go somewhere, or you have some other emergency where you need help, it might be ideal in that situation; one post rather than ringing up everyone.

Mira on 07/14/2015

I, too, am wondering if this works in rural communities, where people are more particular what they're sharing with whom :)

classicalgeek on 07/13/2015

Being mostly a city girl myself, I find it a great way to meet my neighbors and learn what events are happening. I'm not sure how it will work in rural communities, but I'd be interested to find out. Do keep us posted on how it works for you!

CountrySunshine on 07/13/2015

Interesting idea! I live in a rural area, so we mainly communicate at the hardware store or diner. It might be easier to stay in touch with a social site such as NextDoor

You might also like

Walt Whitman and the Bolton Socialist Club Walks

Walt Whitman and Bolton Socialists may seem an unlikely combination. Yet ever...

Hurricane Irene

Impact Of Hurricane Irene In My Town


Disclosure: This page generates income for authors based on affiliate relationships with our partners, including Amazon, Google and others.
Loading ...
Error!