Do You Trust "Reviews" on Next Door?

[kyphysics]

For those who may not know what Next Door is, it's sort of like a neighborhood social network online (maybe a bit like Facebook).

You get invited only if you live in the neighborhood or surrounding areas. Once you join, you can see messages from other homeowners/residents in your neighborhood. Some may be people you know and others may not be. But, you won't have random people who don't live in your area. You have to verify you actually live there.

In the website, once you're signed up and logged in, people post all sorts of news (such as crime), questions (such as whether you have seen a lost dog), and recommendations/reviews (for example, saying so and so did a great job remodeling my home). Yelp! and Google reviews exist, but they are often by people you don't know or have any connection to. Some are fake (as studies have shown) from paid trolls/sabotage artists. Perhaps a few very well-documented cases on those review sites can be useful or if there is a very high review count (500+). Even then, I don't know.

Next Door sort of gives you a possible "added benefit" - these are real people (not fakes) and they live near you. But, would that alone make you feel more trusting of them? Does anyone use Next Door here and what are your thoughts on it?

 

[Vanadium 50]

For those who may not know what Next Door is

Why would you ask people who don't know what it is whether its reviews can be trusted?

 

[kyphysics]

Why would you ask people who don't know what it is whether its reviews can be trusted?

That was for the benefit of those reading the thread, who may not have heard of it and wouldn't be expected to answer, but might still want to glean something from others on the topic.

I sometimes read threads where I'm not familiar necessarily with some topic, but find it interesting and read on to hear what others say.

 

[vela]

Next Door sort of gives you a possible "added benefit" - these are real people (not fakes) and they live near you. But would that alone make you feel more trusting of them? Does anyone use Next Door here and what are your thoughts on it?

I signed up for Next Door a few years ago when I was worried one of my young cats had somehow gotten out of the house. I generally don't trust reviews from people local to me any more than I would trust reviews from the public in general. People have different experiences and different tastes. I don't see why that would change just because the people live nearby.

I do think Next Door can be a good source of referrals for, say, a handyman or a vet, where you'd like to find someone local that you can trust will do a good job. I've also learned about local businesses that I wasn't previously aware of. I'm not the type to go around exploring the neighborhood, so it's helpful to me when those who like to do that report what they found.

I have learned a few more things from Next Door:

• A fair number of local dog owners are jerks. You know, the ones who can't be bothered to clean up after their dogs and leave dog poop on your lawn or on the sidewalk, and the ones who let them run around unleashed in public (in violation of a city ordinance).
• There are a lot of coyotes running around the neighborhood. I've seen the signs up warning about coyotes in the neighborhood, but I've never actually seen one. But various neighbors have reported numerous sightings very close to my house, and others have posted pictures of coyotes wandering around some nearby streets.
• Some of my neighbors are woefully ignorant. One claimed 5G was dangerous because, unlike previous generations, it used ionizing radiation! COVID-19 is a hoax! It's just a power grab by the government! Vaccines cause autism! I guess I shouldn't have been surprised, but still, it's kind of depressing.

I don't check Next Door any more as it had largely devolved into arguments about politics, which gets old really fast.

 

[kyphysics]

I generally don't trust reviews from people local to me any more than I would trust reviews from the public in general. People have different experiences and different tastes. I don't see why that would change just because the people live nearby.

I do think Next Door can be a good source of referrals for, say, a handyman or a vet, where you'd like to find someone local that you can trust will do a good job.

Ah. This is actually what I meant by "reviews" in my OP. I was meaning "recommendations" essentially - those posts where people say so and so did a great job painting my house, fixing my sink, remodeling my bathroom, etc. But, I also meant if you wanted to ask for a recommendation.

Say, you wanted a handyman, and wrote a post asking your neighbors who is a good one? Would you feel more secure from anonymous neighbors? I think most people ask their close friends first. Then, they might go to Yelp! or Google reviews. So, I was wondering how people might "rank" Next Door reviews?

I don't check Next Door any more as it had largely devolved into arguments about politics, which gets old really fast.

Wow, that's unfortunate and surprising. I'd be embarrassed to get into those discussions on that type of a platform. These are your neighbors essentially (some literally next door and others at least in the same neighborhood area) and it'd feel awkward to argue with someone and maybe bump into them taking a walk the next week (many, if not most, have pictures of themselves).

 

[vela]

Say, you wanted a handyman, and wrote a post asking your neighbors who is a good one? Would you feel more secure from anonymous neighbors? I think most people ask their close friends first. Then, they might go to Yelp! or Google reviews. So, I was wondering how people might "rank" Next Door reviews?

Most of my friends don't live in the local area, so asking them for a referral wouldn't be useful. I wouldn't be surprised if this is true for many who live in this area. Most of the referrals I saw on ND were backed up by several other locals, so I would tend to trust those.

Wow, that's unfortunate and surprising. I'd be embarrassed to get into those discussions on that type of a platform. These are your neighbors essentially (some literally next door and others at least in the same neighborhood area) and it'd feel awkward to argue with someone and maybe bump into them taking a walk the next week (many, if not most, have pictures of themselves).

There are hundreds of thousands of people living in the area, so it's unlikely to run into most posters. But, yes, I can imagine my next door neighbor posted something crazy, it would be hard not to see him or her differently. It's a good reason to not get involved in those discussions.

 

[Evo]

I received an invitation to join, I live in a small town and the town residents already have their own chat site, I was also invited to join that, but I am wary of getting caught up in local gossip, so I haven't joined either one.

 

[kyphysics]

I received an invitation to join, I live in a small town and the town residents already have their own chat site, I was also invited to join that, but I am wary of getting caught up in local gossip, so I haven't joined either one.

It's interesting how people's experiences on ND can differ locale-to-locale.

Vela's more politics-heavy experience/culture is absent mostly from my feed. The top 3 post "categories" I see are probably:
-crime alerts (including suspicious people notifications)
-recommendations/referrals/reviews (as in "Who is a good handyman?"..."This person ruined my house siding! Don't ever use them!")
-pets (lost/found/"cute pictures")

Maybe 1 in 50 or so posts will have a political comment or two. I've only seen one nasty "fight" on there (which involved debating BLM). Otherwise, my local feed is pretty non-political.

 

[kyphysics]

Most of the referrals I saw on ND were backed up by several other locals, so I would tend to trust those

I think I've been more attuned to bad experiences vs. good ones. When people post about messed up jobs by handymen, I take note and names/pics (sometimes they post his face!). It could be a horrible stereotype, but many seem to be former felons. It makes logical sense, as that is a low-paying type of work that many don't like to do. I've read about people's ND stories regarding this. One guy was remodeling a person's home and half-way through was throw in jail and never finished.

It may not be logical, but I don't "track" or remember the "praise" posts as much. I probably should take notes on those more often. I guess in my mind I may be thinking it's just one good report. He/she could have messed up so many other people's homes. But with botched jobs, I can maybe see how bad someone is (assuming it's not a major anomaly for them) and if it's bad enough I'll make note to never call this person.

 

[DaveC426913]

I've gotten two invites to Next Door - one just two days go.

I did some perfunctory research on them (both times) and there is an ALARMING amount of complaints about it.
- strongly divided by federal politics
- a lot of arbitrary censorship
- a lot of people getting kicked out by neighborhood leader for unpopular views
- a lot of spamming with local services
- little privacy re: personal info (names, addresses)
- a LOT of reports to Better Business Bureau
- a review rating of 1.03 out of 5 (that's one five-star and about 250 one-star reviews).

So, super-duper not for me.

 

[vela]

Vela's more politics-heavy experience/culture is absent mostly from my feed. The top 3 post "categories" I see are probably:
-crime alerts (including suspicious people notifications)
-recommendations/referrals/reviews (as in "Who is a good handyman?"..."This person ruined my house siding! Don't ever use them!")
-pets (lost/found/"cute pictures")

I'd say pre-pandemic, our experiences were similar. The political arguments largely stemmed from people trying to navigate the pandemic.

 

[vela]

- a LOT of reports to Better Business Bureau
- a review rating of 1.03 out of 5 (that's one five-star and about 250 one-star reviews).

These stats are likely misleading. I looked at some of the complaints and reviews, and most seem to be about alleged censorship and poor moderation. I imagine if PF were listed by the BBB, the complaints and reviews would be dominated by those who were banned from here, and PF would likely have similar poor ratings. That's not to say all the complaints are unjustified. It's just that I'd take them with a big grain of salt.

 

[Klystron]

I used Next Door a few times to help learn about my new neighborhood after downsizing from house to condo (pre-pandemic). I mentioned the site to a few people who knew how to handle the Internet but have not used it myself, since. From the complaints it sounds as if it requires content moderators.

 

[DaveC426913]

These stats are likely misleading.

Yeah. Though that doesn't mean the reviews aren't valid; it just means it is probably not a fair cross section.

 

[kyphysics]

I did some perfunctory research on them (both times) and there is an ALARMING amount of complaints about it.
- strongly divided by federal politics
- a lot of arbitrary censorship
- a lot of people getting kicked out by neighborhood leader for unpopular views
- a lot of spamming with local services
- little privacy re: personal info (names, addresses)

I can't say I "like" Next Door, but do find it useful sometimes (still trying to navigate this part and assess its overall value and trustworthiness/usefulness to me). Two good examples of usefulness for me are:
a.) People post videos of criminal activity near you. I've seen videos posted of cars broken into, for example. It can help to know it's happening maybe right on your street and what the perp looked like.
b.) Well-verified, very bad business reviews. Sort of like examples I gave earlier, where a person will post pictures of a botched job some repairman did to his/her home, give details, name the person (sometimes even with their photo), and warn you about them.

re: privacy
Your personal address is not required to be posted publicly on your profile when you post. Your name will show up, though, and a picture is only optional. But if someone clicks your name/profile, your address will not pop up. My profile is empty. They'll only know your name and that you definitely live within that vicinity. So, it does exclude fake people. Having said that, many people DO voluntarily give their personal info. That may or may not give someone a higher degree of trust on things like reviews. On ND, you know often the person's actual address/name and can interact with them. On Yelp!/Google, a person leaves a review and there aren't conversations between reviewers & readers. On ND, you can post and ask that person - maybe living just a few streets from you - more about their experiences.

I think if it functioned "ideally," the platform can have a lot of positives. It can be like a community of people (all verified/real) assisting others and leveraging the power of trusted local contacts for advice and with lots of built-in community knowledge. Of course, in the real world, we're still dealing with human beings (with all their personality flaws). So, sometimes, you get some "drama" in posts. And the negatives of that can feel amplified, b/c you know in the back of your mind, this is a real person living possibly across the street from me! In some ways, the platform's only as good as the local community/members.

 

[StevieTNZ]

but I am wary of getting caught up in local gossip

Who doesn't like local tsismis?!

 

[collinsmark]

I have a Nextdoor account and it hasn't been a bad experience. I rarely browse posts but I do get an email every morning highlighting posts with lots of activity. They're mostly about missing kitties and dog owners not cleaning up their dogs' poop. I'm also surprised at the sheer number of people who find lost dogs.

With the recent proliferation of home security cameras there's a fair number of posts of package thieves, vandals, and door-to-door scam artists (e.g., "I'm from the security company and I want to come inside your house to check on your system" scam) being caught in the act, complete with images. Personally, I think immediately distributing images of those in the act of blatantly committing crimes can be a good thing.

In my neighborhood it's pretty well moderated. I've seen overly political posts or posts with mis/disinformation being taken down. Of course, I suppose good moderation depends on the moderators for your particular neighborhood.

To the OP's original question: As far as product/service reviews go, I suppose they're probably no worse than any other online reviews. They might be useful if you're looking for local business (e.g., plumber, contractor, etc.) recommendations.