Since launching in Canada in 2019, Nextdoor Canada has become the social platform of choice for many across the country. Initially becoming popular during the pandemic as Canadians tapped into local connections to find vaccines and real time information, Nextdoor has now grown into a hub for everything from finding local businesses to neighbourhood donation drives.
By centering its ethos in hyper-local communities, Nextdoor has differentiated itself from other social media apps by focusing on fostering connections by proximity as opposed to professional networks or follower counts.
Having doubled its growth in the past year alone, we spoke to Nextdoor Canada’s Managing Director, Christopher Doyle, about how the platform came to be used by one in three Canadian households, and what’s next.
Thanks for taking the time, Christopher. Knowing you have been Managing Director of Nextdoor Canada for half a decade, how has the platform changed in the past five years?
CD: First, our platform has grown tremendously in that time and continues to be a valuable source of help for Canadians. In fact, we’ve more than doubled our growth in the past year as neighbours seek information from and connection with their local area.
What has changed in the past five years has been the types of help people are seeking on Nextdoor. When we launched in Canada, it was at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and neighbours flocked to the platform to give and get help around the health crisis. Now, we see the use case for our platform is often related to easing the rising cost of living. Canadians are coming to Nextdoor to seek affordable daycare options locally, find affordable rent, and buy secondhand furniture. It’s connecting people locally to resources to help.
How do you feel Canadians’ sense of community has changed in that time, and how does Nextdoor play a role?
CD: What we saw during the pandemic was that the local community became even more important to Canadians. Our role has been to help facilitate hyper-local connections and information, and we’re the best platform to do this, as our “reason for being” is around location and proximity to your local community. That’s a big difference from other platforms organized around your interests, friends or professional network. When I need to know what’s happening locally, or I need resources or recommendations that I know will be relevant, I go to Nextdoor.
We view our role as helping deliver hyper-local in a way no one else can. As our Canadian community continues to grow, we’ve seen all kinds of wonderful local connections.
Many neighbours use Nextdoor to come to the aid of others; from helping to shovel a senior’s driveway, notifyng neighbours that there are road closures or upcoming construction, helping find missing pets, sharing messages of positivity and support, to offering items for free on our marketplace, For Sale & Free. Neighbours also use Nextdoor to post events and pull together community barbecues and yard sales regularly, as well as to put together food drives to help others. There are many beautiful examples of community on Nextdoor. One thing to highlight is that Nextdoor is 100% free and there is no need to build a following, neighbours in close proximity are already there waiting to connect and to help one another.
Do you have an interesting story to share that gives further insight into how local connections have been forged?
CD: There are so many amazing examples of heartwarming community support on Nextdoor. One of my favourites was over the Christmas holidays, when a local volunteer cooked for neighbours in need. One person’s actions resulted in several other neighbours stepping up to grocery shop for the feast, and others also chipped in by donating turkeys. She ended up feeding 25 people, some who needed the food and others who were looking for community connection, and it was a great example of the bonds that can be built through hyper-local outreach. We also currently have a neighbour who has started to grocery shop for seniors so that they don’t have to go out if it’s troublesome for them to do so, or if they have difficulty carrying heavy groceries. There are so many examples of how Nextdoor facilitates positive connection.
It’s interesting to see that over the past three months, the most engaged communities on Nextdoor have been a mix of large cities and smaller towns. Why does Nextdoor have such a universal appeal?
CD: Nextdoor is local. This means that the neighbourhoods on the platform are as unique as the people and places across the country. In smaller communities, it might mean that Nextdoor is the digital townsquare for a community that comes together and shares regular updates. In more urban communities, it might mean allowing Canadians to quickly find a local resource near them – think about finding a recommended piano teacher or babysitter nearby, with the ability to also get broader updates on what’s happening in the city. This also comes to life with the many public service agencies that post valuable information for neighbours.
Whether your community is big or small, there’s something for everyone because Nextdoor is what’s happening locally.
Where do you see Nextdoor and our sense of community five years from now?
CD: Five years from now, Nextdoor will continue to reflect the local communities we serve. As the needs of the community change, the platform continues to connect Canadians with information and help tailored to wherever they live or visit. Nextdoor is on a trajectory to become the single largest source of hyper-local information for Canadians, and that’s going to be as true five years from now as it is today.
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