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Nextdoor is a private social networking service for neighborhoods based in San Francisco, California, and, as of Winter 2018, is available in the US, the Netherlands, the UK, Germany and France. It was launched in the United States in October 2011; the service became available in the Netherlands in February 2016 and in France in February 2018. Nextdoor allows users to connect with people who live in their own and nearby neighborhoods.

History

Nextdoor was co-founded by Sarah Leary, Nirav Tolia, Prakash Janakiraman and David Wiesen in 2011. Tolia had previously helped start Epinions. Early investors included Benchmark Capital, Shasta Ventures, and Rich Barton. As of February 2014 Nextdoor had 80 to 100 employees. In July 2012 Nextdoor raised US$18.6M in venture capital funding. Dan Clancy (formerly of Google) joined Nextdoor in February 2014.

The company, funded by venture capital, did not initially expect to make money, but planned eventually to run advertising and connect people to deals with local businesses, and be "a nice substitution Craigslist". Recommendations of area resources are also provided, thus making it a competitor with TaskRabbit, another local services provider. Chenda Ngak of CBS News has compared Nextdoor to a "College Bulletin Board".

As of March 2015, Nextdoor had not earned a profit.

In February 2017, Nextdoor acquired the UK local social network service Streetlife, in a "multimillion pound deal". However Nextdoor's different privacy policy has provoked fierce anger amongst former Streetlife users.

Functions

Before registering an account, prospective users must provide their real name and verify their home address. Verification methods include providing a credit card or confirming a code mailed or phoned to the prospective user. Nextdoor provides registered users with a list of neighbors who have also registered. Nextdoor allows users to see which nearby residents are registered on the site, and to send postcards advertising the site to non-registered neighbors. Nextdoor displays members' names and information.

Controversy

Racial profiling

The site has been accused of supporting racial profiling on numerous accounts. On the site's about page it states "We're for neighborhood watch." However, people have complained that the neighborhood watch page has become a magnet for posts that read prejudice towards minority community members. For example, author Pendarvis Harashaw accused Nextdoor's members of engaging in racial profiling: "While Nextdoor's ability to assist in crime-spotting has been celebrated as its 'killer feature' by tech pundits, the app is also facilitating some of the same racial profiling we see playing out in cities across the country. Rather than bridging gaps between neighbors, Nextdoor can become a forum for paranoid racialism — the equivalent of the nosy Neighborhood Watch appointee in a gated community." Sam Levin of the East Bay Express wrote a detailed story on the harm caused by racial profiling and problems with moderators on Nextdoor in Oakland, California. Some are concerned that the social media platform gives neighbors the chance to express their racism from behind a computer screen, without facing any real world repercussions. Monica Bien, an Oakland resident and user of the site, said "It was like the bias was so insidious, and somehow the online community allows them to say what they have been thinking all along but not saying." Nick Wingfield of The New York Times worried that the site may "be used to publicly shame" neighbors or lead to "snarky messages" between residents. However, Nextdoor has guidelines against postings that are discriminatory or engage in profiling.

Nextdoor announced in August 2016 that it will try to curb profiling on the app by requiring suspicious activity reports to have more information than just race. The feature was rolled out to the public in May 2017. Nextdoor acknowledged that this change would not entirely eliminate profiling in the app and that the company would rely on its local neighborhood leads (group moderators) to identify and report uncaught instances of profiling.

Founder

In June 2014 Nirav Tolia pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor, after being charged with felony hit-and-run, and was sentenced to 30 days in county jail and a fine of $239 for fleeing a crash that left a woman injured on U.S. Route 101 in Brisbane, California. "It's ironic that the CEO of a company that is holding itself out as trying to promote neighborliness, crime watch and things like that flees the scene of an accident that he caused and doesn't bother to call 911 or stay around to exchange information or see if he caused any injuries," said the woman's attorney, Joseph Brent. Tolia said, "I am relieved that after further examination of the facts, the DA reduced the charge to a misdemeanor and that Thursday's hearing brought the matter to a close."

Denial of service to sex offenders and members of their households

Unlike some social media platforms that prevent registered sex offenders from creating an account, Nextdoor.com prevents anyone in the same household as a sex offender from creating an account. This includes, spouses, children, roommates or anyone else who shares the same address as an individual on a state sex offender registry. Nextdoor claims that this policy is a condition of the public entities (law enforcement, municipalities, etc.) that it partners with.

References

1. Rao, Leena (October 26, 2011). "Benchmark-Backed Nextdoor Launches As A Private Social Network For Neighborhoods". Tech Crunch. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
2. Lee, Ellen (March 2, 2012). "Nextdoor offers online forum for neighborhoods". San Francisco Chronicle.
3. "facebook voor buren gelanceerd in nederland". Volkskrant. February 16, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
4. "Nextdoor is expanding to France to connect neighbors – TechCrunch". techcrunch.com. Retrieved 2018-03-16.
5. Isaac, Mike (February 4, 2014). "Nextdoor Taps Google Vet Dan Clancy for VP of Engineering Post". Re/code. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
6. Bopper, Ben (July 24, 2012). "Nextdoor, the social network for neighbors, raises $18.6 million to help Americans stop bowling alone". The Verge.
7. Website Dan Clancy, Feb. 2014
8. Scott, Martin (October 26, 2011). "Nextdoor comes knocking with neighborhood network". USA Today. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
9. ^ Ngak, Chenda (October 27, 2011). "Nextdoor is a social network for real neighbors". CBS News. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
10. Help Center "About Nextdoor." Nextdoor.com. (Retrieved 3-31-2015).
11. Koh, Yoree (October 29, 2013). "Well-Heeled Neighbors: Nextdoor Raises $60 Million". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
12. Cellan-Jones, Rory (6 February 2017). "US neighbours' network Nextdoor buys UK's Streetlife". BBC News.
13. Cellan-Jones, Rory (9 February 2017). "Streetlife users in Nextdoor privacy row". BBC News.
14. Streetlife users urged to consider privacy & safety Get Safe Online 17 Feb 2017
15. Chapman, Glenn (October 27, 2011). "Nextdoor launches neighborhood social networks". AFP. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
16. "We are for neighbors". Retrieved April 28, 2017.
17. "Website Meant to Connect Neighbors Hears Complaints of Racial Profiling". Retrieved April 28, 2017.
18. Harashaw, Pendarvis (March 24, 2015). "Nextdoor, the social network for neighbors, is becoming a home for racial profiling". Splinter. Retrieved August 16, 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
19. Levin, Sam (October 7, 2015). "Racial Profiling Via Nextdoor.com". East Bay Express. Retrieved August 16, 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
20. "Website Meant to Connect Neighbors Hears Complaints of Racial Profiling". Retrieved April 28, 2017.
21. Wingfield, Nick (October 26, 2011). "There Posts the Neighborhood". The New York Times. Retrieved August 16, 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
22. "Be helpful, not hurtful". Nextdoor.com. February 22, 2017. Retrieved August 16, 2017. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
23. Shahani, Aarti (August 23, 2016). "Social Network Nextdoor Moves To Block Racial Profiling Online". National Public Radio. Retrieved August 16, 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
24. ^ O'Donovan, Caroline (May 18, 2017). "Racial Profiling Is Still A Problem On Nextdoor". BuzzFeed. Retrieved August 16, 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
25. Ellen Huet (June 13, 2014). "Nextdoor CEO Nirav Tolia Pleads No Contest To Reduced Charge In Hit-And-Run". Forbes. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
26. ^ Lee, Henry K (May 14, 2014) "Police-friendly tech CEO charged with hit-and-run". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 4-17-2014.
27. Huet, Ellen (May 14, 2014), "Nextdoor Hit-and-Run: Yet Another Tech CEO Faces Criminal Charges", Forbes
28. Rosenblatt, Joel; Frier, Sarah (June 14, 2014), "Nextdoor's Tolia to Serve in Work Program for Hit and Run", Bloomberg News
29. "FAC Letter to Nextdoor.com". Florida Action Committee. 2018-04-12. Retrieved 2018-04-12.
30. "FAC Letter to Nextdoor.com". Florida Action Committee. 2018-04-12. Retrieved 2018-04-12.

• Social networking websites
• American websites
• Community websites
• Internet properties established in 2011
• 2011 establishments in California
• Companies based in San Francisco