review

A Review of the Neighborhood Social Media Site Nextdoor.com

Neighborhood Garage Sale Day!

I may have mentioned www.nextdoor.com in the past, but I wanted to hold off on my recommendation until I actually used it for a bit. If you have not heard of Nextdoor, it is essentially a private social media site that is made up of your ACTUAL neighbors.

Weird right? Yes, a way to interact with your ACTUAL, geographic, humanoid neighbors.

I have been a member now for almost a year and was initially invited by a friend of a friend whom I happened to meet working on a local political campaign. At first, I was a little skeptical because your Nextdoor profile is based on your actual address. And while I know that finding a person’s address is not that difficult, I certainly do not want to help anyone find out where my family and I rest our heads at night.

Simply put, I was won over by the verification process. After going through the account activation process which includes a combination of identity checks, I have fairly certain that people are who they say they are and live where they say they live. Of course, there is ALWAYS a chance that this kind of info can be abused, but after using it for a while, this concern has been alleviated for me.

So, why am I recommending Nextdoor?

While there have been a few instances of people sharing things that are not quite neighborhood specific, concerns were quickly addressed. In the end, about 90% of what is shared and talked about, I actually want to know about:

EVENTS – This summer our neighborhood used Nextdoor to coordinate a huge garage sale (pictured above). There were about 60 houses that ended up participating and I have no doubt that Nextdoor played a huge part in increasing the number of households. We have also used it for announcements about neighborhood meetings, block parties, service referrals, etc.
SAFETY - Every community will have people who are a little too eager to get all up into people’s bidness, but when it comes to safety issues and crime, I have found the posts very helpful. I have been alerted to waves of home break-ins, scammers coming to homes, crime locations, etc. I have found them in no way alarmist, but shared as general info to factor in as we live and move in our neighborhood.
PETS – I know this one seems a little less important to some, but each time I see a “Have you seen my lost X?” post, I watch out a little more. Also, few months ago, we were also alerted to a coyote sighting and an attack on a cat. After this, we were extra careful about leaving our small dog outside.
COMMUNITY – Overall, the best thing about Nextdoor has been that I have felt a little more connected to my local community. Meeting folks via Nextdoor and then eventually person has further connected me with the actual people who live right around us.

Of course there are still some questions to be raised as Nextdoor grows:

How will the info - referrals, recommendations, etc – not get watered down?
How will transitions work when people move?
How will neighbor conflicts be moderated?
When trolls get in, what happens?

I will say that in the few threads that I have been a part of, it appears as if the Nextdoor folks are genuinely interested in getting feedback from those who are using it currently. Again, a plus.

So at this point, I am comfortable now recommending this site for your use. Below are some of the links that you may want to check out and use as you get started. Let me know how it goes and enjoying meeting those other humans that live near you called your neighbors

MY PROFILE - Just see what folks will see.
JOIN HERE - If you use this link to sign up, I move if the “Top Inviters List” Woohoo! There is no gain for me other than social media ego strokes. *smh*
THIS LINK - Because Nextdoor is still relatively new, not all neighborhoods have started groups, so if you start one, we both get a $50 Starbucks card.
NEXTDOOR ON TWITTER
NEXTDOOR ON FACEBOOK

In the end, I have experienced Nextdoor as a catalyst for our neighborhood to begin acting like an actual . . . neighborhood. If you decide to join, I that you too will find it as useful as I have.

Review of “White Flour” by David LaMotte and Jenn Hales

Cover of White Flour by David LaMotte and Jenn Hales

Most people know David as a singer, songwriter, peacemaker, activist and author. And over the past 15+ years, I am grateful to have come to call him a friend, but David’s real mark on my life is as the soundtrack that was played during the birth of all three of my daughters. As refrains of “Hard-Earned Smile, “We’re All Each Other’s Angels” and “S.S. Bathtub” played in the background, David’s voice and music helped welcome my babies into the world. And over the past 16 years, the girls have grown up with David through his concerts, his music and his ministry.

Yep, David, has a pretty special place in the life of our family and for his ministry and gifts we are thankful.

So it is with great pleasure that I commend David’s latest project to you, his book “White Flour” available on Amazon and davidlamotte.com.

White Flour is David LaMotte’s second children’s book, with illustrations by Jenn Hales. In Seussian rhyme, it tells the funny and inspiring story of the day that the Ku Klux Klan met the Coup Clutz Clowns, who offered a whimsical and wise retort to their racist rally. The poem that provides the text for the book was inspired by true events in Knoxville, TN in 2007.

Many folks may have heard of the 2007 Knoxville, TN march, but David has captured the event with a sense of passion and imagination that brings that day to life in amazing ways. Do not make the mistake to dismiss this simply as a children’s book, because, as so many other children’s book do, David’s words and Jenn Hale’s illustrations, challenge all people, old and young, to reflect on the nature of what it means to be community. David brings to light this event where evil and hatred are fought, not with the force of violence, but with the power of love.

Here is David reciting “White Flour”

Again, White Flour is available on Amazon and davidlamotte.com. You can also follow David on Twitter [@davidlamotte] and find him Facebook. And if you are looking to dive into David’s music, my all-time favorite CD is Flying, Live from Grey Eagle, also available on Amazon and davidlamotte.com.