Neighborhood social app Nextdoor recently launched a new design, claiming to bring a "new Nextdoor" experience. The app not only updated its interface but also added local news, real-time alerts, and a feature called "Faves," an AI recommendation function designed to help users better discover nearby businesses and events.
Since its launch 15 years ago, Nextdoor has been an important platform for neighborhood interaction, where users can exchange various recommendations, such as finding a plumber or nearby restaurants. However, due to an increase in misinformation and racist posts on the platform, user engagement has gradually declined. Now, Nextdoor hopes these new features will attract more users, making the platform more useful and timely. Nirav Tolia, CEO and co-founder of Nextdoor, stated that they aim to improve the quality and quantity of local information on the platform.
To this end, Nextdoor has partnered with 3,500 local media outlets, including the San Francisco Chronicle, the London Standard, and the Toronto Star. Tolia pointed out that this content is not part of a commercial agreement; Nextdoor does not pay these publications or host their content, but simply displays news headlines, summaries, and images, directing users to the original media websites.
In addition to the news feature, Nextdoor has also launched a real-time alert service covering weather, traffic, power outages, storms, and wildfires. Users can see these alerts on the dynamic neighborhood map to facilitate timely safety communication. Nextdoor has partnered with Samdesk and Weather.com to support these alerts. Tolia explained that when there is important information, the app will mark it as "yellow status"; in emergency situations, it will turn to "red status," ensuring users immediately focus on the most critical safety information.
Finally, the "Faves" feature introduced by Nextdoor will help users better find nearby restaurants and entertainment spots. Tolia stated that using Google or ChatGPT to find local services is less valuable compared to recommendations from neighbors. This new feature will display a curated list of recommendations, allowing users to ask specific questions and receive relevant suggestions.
Nextdoor's goal is to use 15 years of neighborhood conversations to create a local AI, making information more tailored to user needs. Tolia emphasized that Nextdoor's uniqueness lies in capturing and digitizing local word-of-mouth, an information source that other platforms cannot provide.