If imitation is the greatest form of flattery, the Nextdoor app that lets neighborhoods keep in touch without sharing everything about them must be doing something right because just been cloned by Facebook. Obviously upset that there is a small amount of data about us that it doesn’t have access to, Facebook has begun testing a new feature called Neighborhoods that plans to “bring the local experience across Facebook into one place”, whatever that means.
Facebook’s Neighborhood feature will allow users aged 18 or older to set up a dedicated profile that is different from your main FB profile. You can choose to join the neighborhood you live in as well as those nearby to see posts from surrounding areas.
You can add interests, favorite places, and a bio to your Neighborhoods profile as well as write a post to introduce yourself and participate in discussions, or perhaps take on a role as someone who sparks friendly conversations. There’ll be special interest groups such as bird watching or whatever else you are into, as well as a recommendations section where you’ll be able to get advice on where the best coffee is being served or if someone knows a responsible dog walker.
Facebook says that Neighborhoods is an ‘Opt-in’ experience from within the Facebook app, at least for now. Neighborhoods is already available in the Facebook app in Canada and will soon roll out to a number of US cities.
As a company that not renowned for its ability to protect your personal data (see here) and the fact that Facebook will do almost anything to get its hands on more of our data because we are the product, I think that I’ll be staying with Nextdoor and ignoring the Neighborhoods feature. What are your thoughts on this?
