What Petty Nextdoor Posts Reveal About America

Posted June 22, 2018

External Article: The Atlantic

Ian Bogost, professor at the School of Literature, Media, and Communication (LMC) at Georgia Institute of Technology, wrote The Atlantic, July/August 2018 issue, article, “What Petty Nextdoor Posts Reveal About America.” The School of Literature, Media, and Communication is part of the Georgia Tech Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts.

Excerpt:

Here are some of the things I heard about in my neighborhood over the past year: A thunderstorm downed a tree, blocking a central road; a shadowy agent called “the night clipper” arose, surreptitiously cutting overhanging bushes while unsuspecting property owners slept; several dogs and cats were lost, found, or “on the loose,” whatever that means for a cat; a federal-grand-jury-summons telephone scam struck; someone sought belly-dancing classes, an apparent alternative to Pilates; and, innumerable times, people deposited bags of dog poop into lawn-clipping and recycling canisters at the curb. All of this news came courtesy of the social-media service Nextdoor. On its website and app, people can post recommendations, updates, and warnings about their building, block, or neighborhood.

For the full article, visit The Atlantic website.