You can now connect with your crush across the street
Nextdoor, the first social network entirely dedicated to local communities, enters Italy. The U.S. company announced it on September 18, and the move follows the two-years expansion of the app into other European markets, such as Britain, Germany, France and the Netherlands, where its use has grown rapidly up to a total of 200 thousand users.
From the babysitter to the missing pet
This local platform is not only a geolocalized social network, but it has also plenty of other functionalities. Indeed, residents can ask advice on finding gyms, sports clubs, shops or babysitters. You can also sell or buy something from your neighbors, launch an event, ask help to find a missing pet or report a security issue. The forum of the webiste aims to give the locals a space to start conversations between themselves about anything.
Obviously, the algorithm doesn’t allow users to register in neighborhoods which are not their own. Indeed, in order to access, Nextdoor asks you to verify your full name and to confirm your address through the house number or through a postcard containing a secret code which will be mailed to the address indicated by the user.
Although it is impossible to have access to different neighborhoods and to read other communities’ discussions, there is still the possibility of adding surrounding areas, if you can justify that your area of relevance is broader than that proposed by Nexdoor.
Against loneliness
Studies have proven that in Italy as well as in the United States, especially in urban areas, most local residents do not know their own neighbors. This is why Nextdoor CEO Nirav Tolia explains: “The basic idea, the inspiration, is not mine. I owe it to a Harvard Professor, Robert Putnam, whose theory is that neighborhoods are the perfect example of social network.
He continues: “For many people Nextdoor has already been a way to save themselves from loliness, bridge the distance and get in touch with people they meet on the street every day without starting a conversation, not once. Instead, common ground is often very easy to find.”
After an initial period of beta testing, Nextdoor is therefore available in Italy for Android and iOS. Will this old-fashioned app manage to become common use?