User:BC1278/sandbox/Nextdoor

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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.{{cite news|last=Ngak|first=Chenda|title=Nextdoor is a social network for real neighbors |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501465_162-20126418-501465/nextdoor-is-a-social-network-for-real-neighbors/ |newspaper=CBS News|date=October 27, 2011 | access-date=November 2, 2011}} Nextdoor allows users to see which nearby residents are registered on the site, and to send postcards advertising the site to non-registered neighbors.{{cite news |last=Chapman |first=Glenn |title=Nextdoor launches neighborhood social networks| url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jgGztRmn5ypCz1iB511OZCwbOtyA?docId=CNG.a57582140dad9aead03d303f9679893c.601 |accessdate=November 2, 2011 |newspaper=AFP |date=October 27, 2011}}

Nextdoor is organized into separate sites for different neighborhoods. A map for each community enables members to see which of their neighbors have joined.{{Cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2011/10/26/benchmark-backed-nextdoor-launches-as-a-private-social-network-for-neighborhoods/|title=Benchmark-Backed Nextdoor Launches As A Private Social Network For Neighborhoods – TechCrunch|website=techcrunch.com|language=en-US|access-date=2018-04-11}}

Members can post messages about their neighborhood, such as local service provider recommendations,{{Cite news|url=https://computer.howstuffworks.com/internet/social-networking/networks/nextdoor-and-more-good-bad-and-ugly-neighborhood-social-networks.htm|title=Nextdoor and More: The Good, Bad and Ugly of Neighborhood Social Networks|date=2018-02-27|work=HowStuffWorks|access-date=2018-04-11|language=en}}{{Cite web|url=https://smallbiztrends.com/2017/11/2017-nextdoor-neighborhood-favorites-small-business.html|title=Nextdoor's Neighborhood Favorites Will Let Customers Rank Your Local Business – Small Business Trends|website=smallbiztrends.com|language=en-US|access-date=2018-04-23}} real estate issues,{{Cite news|url=https://www.inman.com/2017/12/11/nextdoor-expands-real-estate-arm-into-three-new-markets/|title=Nextdoor expands real estate arm into three new markets|work=Inman|access-date=2018-04-23|language=en-US}} and crime and safety updates.{{Cite news|url=https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Nextdoor-offers-online-forum-for-neighborhoods-3375382.php|title=Nextdoor offers online forum for neighborhoods|work=SFGate|access-date=2018-04-11}}{{Cite news|url=https://pando.com/2013/01/22/nextdoors-unexpected-killer-use-case-crime-and-safety/|title=Nextdoor's unexpected killer use case: Crime and safety|date=2013-01-22|work=Pando|access-date=2018-04-11|language=en-gb}} Local police departments are allowed to post notices in neighborhoods,{{Cite news|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/05/nextdoor-social-network-police-seattle/481164/|title=The Controversial Social Network That Cops Use for Community Policing|last=Waddell|first=Kaveh|work=The Atlantic|access-date=2018-05-05|language=en-US}} such as closed roads, a spike in burglaries, warnings about a suspect or requests for help solving a crime.{{Cite news |first=Miguel |last=Helft |date=July 1, 2014 |title=A Facebook for crime fighters |url=http://fortune.com/2014/07/01/nextdoor-local-neighborhood-social-network-police/ |work=Fortune|access-date=2018-04-11|language=en}} Platform features include tools for organizing events; official city government pages to make announcements and answer questions; and real estate listings.{{Cite news |last=Yamada-Hosley |first=Heather |date=August 16, 2017 |url=https://lifehacker.com/how-to-use-nextdoor-to-get-to-know-your-neighbors-1797894809|title=How to Use Nextdoor to Get to Know Your Neighbors |work=Lifehacker |access-date=2018-04-11|language=en-US}}

The platform is in use by about 3000 public agencies to provide voting and community information.

The company started out in 2008 as Fanbase, a social network for sports fans, pivoting to become Nextdoor in the summer of 2010.{{Cite news|url=https://www.recode.net/2017/4/19/15360174/transcript-nextdoor-co-founder-ceo-norav-tolia-epinions-local-recode-decode|title=Full transcript: Nextdoor co-founder and CEO Nirav Tolia on Recode Decode|work=Recode|access-date=2018-04-23}}{{Cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2015/04/19/fanbase-co-founders-discuss-their-pivot-to-nextdoor/|title=Fanbase Co-Founders Discuss Their Pivot To Nextdoor – TechCrunch|website=techcrunch.com|language=en-US|access-date=2018-04-23}} The Nextdoor founding team was Nirav Tolia, Sarah Leary, Prakash Janakiraman and David Wiesen.{{Cite news|url=http://money.cnn.com/gallery/investing/2017/11/02/women-founders-unicorns/6.html|title=15 women who founded $1 billion startups|last=Giles|first=Chris|work=CNNMoney|access-date=2018-04-11}} Tolia, who became CEO, had previously helped start Epinions.

{{As of|2014|2}} Nextdoor had 80 to 100 employees and had hired Dan Clancy (formerly of Google) as VP of engineering.{{cite news|url=http://recode.net/2014/02/04/nextdoor-taps-google-vet-dan-clancy-for-vp-of-engineering-post/|title=Nextdoor Taps Google Vet Dan Clancy for VP of Engineering Post|last=Isaac|first=Mike|date=February 4, 2014|access-date=January 28, 2015|website=Re/code}}

It introduced advertising in 2017, its first efforts at monetization.{{Cite news|url=http://www.adweek.com/digital/why-nextdoor-believes-it-can-be-social-medias-next-1-billion-advertising-machine/|title=Why Nextdoor Believes It Can Be Social Media's Next $1 Billion Advertising Machine|access-date=2018-05-05|language=en-US}} Advertising includes posts inside of user's feeds about business services and products. CEO Toila said the company brought in several million dollars in ad revenue in 2017.{{Cite news|url=http://fortune.com/2017/05/21/nextdoor-revenue/|title=Nextdoor Says It Will Make Tens of Millions In Revenue This Year|work=Fortune|access-date=2018-04-12|language=en}}

The platform introduced paid real estate advertising in 2017. Agents and brokers are able to create pages for their business. When a member searches for homes in a neighborhood's real estate section, the agents can pay for their business pages to show up. They can also pay to sponsor a neighborhood section.{{Cite news|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/08/nextdoor-is-finally-chasing-revenue-two-years-after-its-billion-dollar-valuation.html|title=Billion-dollar neighborhood social network Nextdoor moves against Zillow, Redfin|last=Kolodny|first=Lora|date=2017-08-08|work=CNBC|access-date=2018-04-12}}

Nextdoor has been reported to have been in wide use by neighbors during natural disasters such as Hurricane Harvey{{Cite news|url=http://www.khou.com/article/news/local/nextdoor-helps-neighbors-connect-during-harvey/474945033|title=Nextdoor helps neighbors connect during Harvey|work=KHOU|access-date=2018-04-12|language=en-US}} and Hurricane Irma,{{Cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2017/09/08/9-1-1-couldnt-help-floodwaters-rose-so-diabetic-man-and-family-turned-facebook/645890001/|title=Facebook, Nextdoor become digital lifelines in hurricanes|work=USA TODAY|access-date=2018-04-12|language=en}} as well as public crisis, such as the string of bombings in Austin, Texas.{{Cite news|url=https://www.texastribune.org/2018/03/22/nextdoor-ring-and-other-technology-helped-austin-through-bombing-fears/|title=Austin residents shared their fears and their info on Nextdoor during bombings|last=Samuels|first=Alex|date=2018-03-22|work=The Texas Tribune|access-date=2018-04-12|language=en}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.tdtnews.com/news/article_1bd7b1a0-2f15-11e8-81ad-7729ce8216cc.html|title=Austin area residents shared fears, info on social media during bombings|last=TRIBUNE|first=ALEX SAMUELS {{!}} THE TEXAS|work=Temple Daily Telegram|access-date=2018-04-12|language=en}}

The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency has access to the platform to provide emergency alerts about natural disasters, such as flooding, hurricanes and major snowstorms.{{Cite news|url=https://efficientgov.com/blog/2017/05/24/nextdoor-fema-emergency-messaging/|title=FEMA Emergency Messaging to Start on Nextdoor App {{!}} EfficientGov|date=2017-05-24|work=EfficientGov|access-date=2018-04-11|language=en-US}} The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also sends out emergency hyperlocal weather alerts via the platform.{{Cite web|url=http://www.govtech.com/social/Nextdoor-and-NOAA-Partner-to-Better-Prepare-Americans-for-Severe-Weather.html|title=Nextdoor and NOAA Partner to Better Prepare Americans for Severe Weather|website=www.govtech.com|language=en|access-date=2018-04-23}}

Nextdoor started to be used in March 2018 by the state of California to send out election-related information, such as polling station locations.{{Cite news|url=https://www.engadget.com/2018/03/14/california-send-residents-election-info-nextdoor/|title=California will send residents election information through Nextdoor|work=Engadget|access-date=2018-04-12|language=en-US}}

By 2014, the company said about 25% of American neighborhoods were represented on Nextdoor.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theverge.com/2014/8/18/6030393/nextdoor-private-social-network-40000-neighborhoods|title=The anti-Facebook: one in four American neighborhoods are now using this private social network|work=The Verge|access-date=2018-04-11}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/exclusive-neighborhood-based-social-network-nextdoor-rise-u-s|title=Exclusive neighborhood-based social network 'Nextdoor' on the rise in U.S.|website=PBS NewsHour|language=en-US|access-date=2018-04-11}} By 2017, the company said that about 75% of U.S. neighborhoods were signed up on Nextdoor.{{cite news|last1=Worthy|first1=Beth|title=What Every Marketer Needs to Know About Local Social App 'Nextdoor'|url=https://www.socialmediatoday.com/social-networks/what-every-marketer-needs-know-about-local-social-app-nextdoor|accessdate=15 May 2018|publisher=Social Media Today|date=20 September 2017}} {{Cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2017/06/20/nextdoor-now-in-160000-neighborhoods-globally-expands-to-germany/|title=Nextdoor, now in 160,000 neighborhoods globally, expands to Germany – TechCrunch|website=techcrunch.com|language=en-US|access-date=2018-04-11}}{{cite news|last1=Czarnecki|first1=Sean|title=11 Questions for Nextdoor CEO Nirav Tolio|url=https://www.prweek.com/article/1440882/11-questions-nextdoor-ceo-nirav-tolia|accessdate=15 May 2018|publisher=PR Week|date=31 July 2017}} It was active in about 170,000 communities, as of April 2018.{{Cite news|url=http://www.cjonline.com/news/20180412/city-of-topeka-wraps-truck-in-nextdoor-logo-design-encourages-residents-to-sign-up-for-service|title=City of Topeka wraps truck in Nextdoor logo design, encourages residents to sign up for service|last=Hrenchir|first=Tim|work=The Topeka Capital|access-date=2018-04-23|language=en}} and each neighborhood had an average of 1,200 households as members.

In February 2017, Nextdoor acquired the UK local social network service Streetlife, in a "multimillion pound deal." Streetlife was discontinued with users encouraged to join Nextdoor. Unlike Streetlife, Nextdoor required that members verify their identity and address.{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-38879239 |first=Rory |last=Cellan-Jones |authorlink= Rory Cellan-Jones |title=US neighbours' network Nextdoor buys UK's Streetlife|publisher=BBC News|date=6 February 2017}} Nextdoor's use of full name and address directories within neighborhood sites led to anger amongst some former Streetlife users, accustomed to having only their first names revealed. Streetlife data had been searchable by Google and Nextdoor does not allow search engines to index the platform.{{cite news| first=Rory |last=Cellan-Jones |authorlink= Rory Cellan-Jones |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-38920906|title=Streetlife users in Nextdoor privacy row|publisher=BBC News|date=9 February 2017}}[https://www.getsafeonline.org/news/streetlife-users-urged-to-consider-privacy-safety Streetlife users urged to consider privacy & safety] Get Safe Online 17 Feb 2017

===Racial profiling misuse and remediation efforts===

In 2016, there were multiple complaints that some Nextdoor members were misusing the platform's neighborhood watch pages for racial profiling.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/19/us/website-nextdoor-hears-racial-profiling-complaints.html|title=Website Meant to Connect Neighbors Hears Complaints of Racial Profiling|last=Medina|first=Jennifer|date=2016-05-18|work=The New York Times|access-date=2018-04-12|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news|url=https://splinternews.com/nextdoor-the-social-network-for-neighbors-is-becoming-1793846596|title=Nextdoor, the social network for neighbors, is becoming a home for racial profiling|last=Harshaw|first=Pendarvis|work=Splinter|access-date=2018-05-03|language=en-US}} Complaints in Oakland, California were particularly vehement following a report that included examples of racially-motivated posts about minorities walking dogs, driving cars or delivering mail.{{Cite web|url=https://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/racial-profiling-via-nextdoorcom/Content?oid=4526919|title=Racial Profiling Via Nextdoor.com|last=Levin|first=Sam|website=East Bay Express|language=en|access-date=2018-04-12}} In response, Nextdoor adopted algorithms to identify racially biased language.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2017/02/for-nextdoor-eliminating-racism-is-no-quick-fix/|title=For Nextdoor, Eliminating Racism Is No Quick Fix {{!}} Backchannel|magazine=WIRED|access-date=2018-05-16|language=en-US}} And it said in August 2016 that it would further curb profiling by requiring suspicious activity reports to have substantially more information than race.{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/08/23/490950267/social-network-nextdoor-moves-to-block-racial-profiling-online|title=Social Network Nextdoor Moves To Block Racial Profiling Online|last=Shahani|first=Aarti|date=August 23, 2016|work=National Public Radio|access-date=August 16, 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=}}{{Cite news|url=https://hbr.org/2018/05/how-nextdoor-addressed-racial-profiling-on-its-platform|title=How Nextdoor Addressed Racial Profiling on Its Platform|date=2018-05-11|work=Harvard Business Review|access-date=2018-05-11}} The company reported posts with racial profiling were reduced by 75%.{{cite news|last1=Hill|first1=Kashmir|title=How Nextdoor reduced racist posts by 75%|url=https://splinternews.com/how-nextdoor-reduced-racist-posts-by-75-1793861389|accessdate=11 May 2018|publisher=Splinter|date=25 August 2016}} But in 2017, Nextdoor said that the platform changes would not entirely eliminate profiling in the app, so the platform would rely on local neighborhood leads (group moderators) to identify and report uncaught instances of profiling.{{Cite news|url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/carolineodonovan/racial-profiling-is-still-a-problem-on-nextdoor|title=Racial Profiling Is Still A Problem On Nextdoor|work=BuzzFeed|access-date=2018-04-12|language=en}}

Nextdoor had raised $285 million in financing, as of December, 2017.{{Cite web|url=http://www.govtech.com/biz/Nextdoor-Raises-75M-Funding-Round-Easily-One-of-Gov-Techs-Largest-Deals-of-the-Year.html|title=Nextdoor Raises $75M Funding Round, Easily One of Gov Tech's Largest Deals of the Year|website=www.govtech.com|language=en|access-date=2018-04-12}} A $75 million round announced that month put its valuation at $1.5 billion. The investor was not disclosed by the company.{{Cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2017/12/11/nextdoor-raised-about-75-million-to-connect-neighbors/|title=Nextdoor raised about $75 million to connect neighbors – TechCrunch|website=techcrunch.com|language=en-US|access-date=2018-04-12}} A German magazine said German media conglomerate Axel Springer SE became an investor in October 2017. {{Cite web|url=https://aimgroup.com/2017/10/25/axel-springer-reportedly-invests-nextdoor/|title=Axel Springer invests in Nextdoor - ManagerMagazin - AIM Group|last=Rodriguez|first=Kate|website=aimgroup.com|language=en-US|access-date=2018-04-12}}

A previous round of $110 million in funding in 2015 valued Nextdoor at $1.1 billion. Benchmark, Greylock Partners, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Insight Venture Partners are among the company's investors.{{Cite news|url=https://therealdeal.com/la/2017/12/11/neighborhood-based-app-nextdoor-valued-at-nearly-1-5b/|title=Neighborhood-based app Nextdoor raises $75M in latest round|date=2017-12-11|work=The Real Deal Los Angeles|access-date=2018-04-12|language=en-US}}

The company raised $60 million in 2013{{Cite web |last=Koh |first=Yoree |date=2013-10-29 |title=Well-Heeled Neighbors: Nextdoor Raises $60 Million |url=https://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2013/10/29/well-heeled-neighbors-nextdoor-raises-60-million/ |department=Digits (blog) |website=The Wall Street Journal |language=en-US|access-date=2018-04-12}} and $18.6 million in 2012.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theverge.com/2012/7/24/3177881/nextdoor-private-social-network-for-neighbors-raises-18-6-million|title=Nextdoor, the social network for neighbors, raises $18.6 million to help Americans stop bowling alone|work=The Verge|access-date=2018-04-12}}