The Networked Neighborhood

Fostering Social Resilience via Online Neighborhood Social Networks During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond: Status Quo, Design Dilemmas and Research Opportunities

“…As a result, ONSN platform providers are required to develop novel business models that do not primarily rely on online advertising [13]. Studies analyzing the effects of ONSNs demonstrate their ability to increase neighborly communication and activities [16], to foster local engagement and intergenerational communication [15] and to improve social connectedness and participation among neighbors [30]. While ONSNs such as Nextdoor are also brought to bear alongside other OSNs during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic [11], as yet, the focus in this regard has been generic communication and information sharing functionality as opposed to functionality targeted at improving social resilience.…”

“…As they are already home to a like-minded community of neighbors and have reached a certain level of technological maturity and reliability, they are an instrument that is available for immediate application in the face of the current crisis. While there are first studies on the design and effects of ONSNs [15,16] and they, among other OSNs, are finding application during the COVID-19 pandemic [11,12,17], their role in improving social resilience has not yet been investigated. Furthermore, there is a need for further research investigating how citizens leverage social media for self-coordination and self-help in times of crisis [18].…”

Conceptualizing Design Parameters of Online Neighborhood Social Networks

“…Masden et al [8] analyze the ONSN Nextdoor and attest potential for fostering community connectedness. Further studies on ONSNs propose an app-based platform for fostering co-production in the neighborhood and a cross-generational neighborhood network [9,21].…”

“…We commence the taxonomy development process by using the conceptual-to-empirical approach and leverage the results of our previously conducted literature review to determine an initial set of dimensions. We extract the dimensions neighborhood delimitation [4], local facilitation [4,5,9,15,24,25], identity verification [4,9], real-name policy [4,8,9,21], subcommunities [5,8,9,15,21,24] and channels [4,9]. Subsequently, we analyze our sample of ONSNs using the empirical-to-conceptual approach.…”

“…Despite this increasing popularity, extant research on ONSNs remains scarce. While some studies investigate ONSNs and related issues [4,8,9], academic literature lacks a comprehensive framework for their classification. We aim to contribute to closing this research gap by providing a systematic overview of the domain of ONSNs.…”