(Photo by Eric BARADAT / AFP) (Photo by ERIC BARADAT/AFP via Getty Images)
It’s one thing to debate someone online when they’re 3k miles away and won’t come knocking on your door.
But it’s a different story when they live 2 houses down from you.
Nextdoor, the hyperlocal social platform used by 270k neighborhoods in 11 countries, is now apparently a hotbed for COVID-talk.
Vaccine discussions on the platform have gone viral
There were 400m+ views of COVID-related posts on NextDoor in January and vaccine-related topics experienced major upticks since November, with “distribution” up 3,000%, “timeline” up 1,262%, and “safety” up 524%.
Neighbors are also discussing brands playing roles in vaccine distribution, with mentions of Albertsons (+2,245%), Kroger (+2,226%), and Safeway (+1,251%) experiencing big upticks.
But it’s not all neighborly chitchat
Nextdoor is struggling to address misinformation, a reportedly rampant issue that has turned some neighborhood groups into contentious information battlegrounds.
On a more positive note, public health agencies are using Nextdoor as a hyperlocal megaphone to announce vaccine distribution plans and health guidelines.
That’s great, though ideally when the pandemic ends we can switch back to Nextdoor being the platform neighbors use to borrow eggs.
