Social-Media
Facebook is testing mini social networks that concentrate on you and your neighbors.
Facebook's next big game may be more about getting to know your neighbors. This week, the company announced that it is testing a new feature that allows users to post and share news on miniature social networks based on specific geographic areas. Users may create unique profiles that share limited information with their neighbors, while Facebook itself can use the comprehensive location data that it gathers from those enrolled to display "more appropriate" ads.
The feature, called Neighborhoods, is currently being tested in only one single market, Calgary in Canada, but Facebook is likely to carry out access more widely if the test is successful. Another hyperlocal social network, Nextdoor, has demonstrated the feasibility of this model and is currently searching for an IPO estimated between $4 billion and $5 billion.
Facebook is taking on NextDoor with a NEW ‘Neighborhoods’ feature!
— Matt Navarra (@MattNavarra) October 20, 2020
h/t Leon Griggs / https://t.co/oHkIdU6nbC pic.twitter.com/OHYMW1ig9I
Screenshots of the neighborhood feature were posted by social media strategist Matt Navarra on Twitter on Tuesday, while an earlier version of the feature was spotted in May by Jane Manchun Wong. A Facebook spokesperson confirmed the Bloomberg test, adding, More than ever, people are using Facebook to engage in their local communities. To help make it easier to do this, we're running a small Neighborhood Test, a dedicated Facebook space for people to communicate with their neighbors.
Screenshots shared by Navarra show the on-boarding phase, with Facebook users asked to "connect with neighbors." Users need to confirm their position to fit their region (they may later revoke access to this data, but this would have a minimal privacy impact unless the user later moves away) and then create a restricted profile that can be accessed by those nearby, eve.
Facebook is taking on NextDoor with a NEW ‘Neighborhoods’ feature!
— Matt Navarra (@MattNavarra) October 20, 2020
h/t Leon Griggs / https://t.co/oHkIdU6nbC pic.twitter.com/OHYMW1ig9I
The welcome screen for the feature tells users to remember five rules: Be inclusive, Be kind, Keep it local, Keep it safe, and Share useful details. Users may invite friends to join and ask questions about their community and share pictures. Navarra states that users can leave or change neighborhoods at any time.
Focusing on neighbourhoods would match Facebook's gradual shift to smaller communities. In recent years , the company has placed more emphasis on private and public groups, rather than more open sharing between the widest circle of friends of the user.
However, this shift in policy was not uncontroversial. Facebook critics argue that its current emphasis on groups has exacerbated a range of unpleasant phenomena, from the rise of the anti-vax movement to the use of Facebook-based militias to encourage violence.
Moderating these groups required more work than Facebook is willing to do, and the same negative dynamics could easily be replicated in neighborhood-focused enclaves. Nextdoor, for example, has repeatedly been criticized for unintentionally encouraging bigotry on its website, and Facebook's track record does not suggest that it will avoid similar toxicity.
