The survey results indicated positive perceptions of Nextdoor, with the biggest concern being irrelevant posts. Participants also reported high willingness to participate in behavioral manifestations of trust, though they were generally informal, low-commitment activities as opposed to higher commitment and more personal activities. Most neighbors used Nextdoor to give or receive help or discuss local information. Usually giving and receiving help is the most used, but during the snowstorm local information became the most used category. There were a number of posts related to community, particularly around dogs, cats and hummingbirds in the neighborhood. Although there weren’t large quantities of these posts, the number of replies on the ones that did appear suggested that this was a topic of interest to a number of neighbors. Buying and selling items were usually straightforward and did not have many replies, though they were more likely to end in an in-person meeting to exchange the item. There were not many posts about personal opinions, though personal opinions sometimes came up in comment threads.
Virtual communities like Nextdoor are gaining interest and membership — within the four months of my study period, Collins View gained 50 members. As illustrated in the survey, most people had more positive perceptions of Nextdoor than negative ones, and even demonstrated some generalized trust towards other neighbors through their willingness to engage in trust based activities with others. This suggests that Nextdoor is a successful virtual third place in Collins View, and although people may not have built up trust with their neighbors yet, this forum is a constructive way to do so.