Comment by peckrob | Hacker News Reader

Comment by peckrob | Hacker News Reader

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Yup, Facebook has their tentacles in so many places that walking away from it is difficult, especially if you are involved in local community activities.

My neighborhood exclusively uses Facebook for neighborhood communication.

My kid's school PTA exclusively uses Facebook.

Most of the local food trucks only post their schedules on Facebook.

Since the pandemic started I have been taking the opportunity to go through my house and clean out lots of things that have just been hanging around for years. I list everything I sell on Facebook, Craigslist, OfferUp, and Nextdoor. I can’t remember the last time I got a bite from any of the other services that aren't Facebook. It’s been awhile.

It honestly drives me be crazy how this company has wormed their way into being such an essential piece of communication infrastructure for so many people that I can’t quit without sacrificing my ability to participate in some of the things I really enjoy.

So I begrudgingly tolerate Facebook.

For me, it's the local cycling community. Rides and ride groups all use it as their point of coordination.

>Most of the local food trucks only post their schedules on Facebook.

Oh, god, that's annoying. I've actually seen some businesses forgo a proper web site and instead JUST USE FB, which is crazy annoying.

This!! But its even worse, they don't update their FB page. So I'm forced to use FB to find where they are this week to find their last update was August 2021.

I am from Europe so I may not get it, but what communication does a neighborhood do that is important? Yard sales?

Do people really participate in something like school PTA and eat often at food trucks?

I guess electronic platforms are more fragmented here in Europe. Google Maps owns business hours, various classified sites (such as Ebay's) own selling stuff locally. But everything might be different in each country really.

I think people have become more vary to post personal things online. I know very little parents that would be okay to publish pictures of their kids online (including on Facebook).

Our neighborhood uses an FB group. There are typically 2-3 posts a week.

* lost and found (including pets)

* HOA announcements

* changes to the trash pickup schedule, special trash collections, etc

* other events (Santa parade)

* new neighbor introductions

* recommendations (repairs, babysitting, dog sitting)

* free stuff or stuff for sale

* general advice on house construction (many houses are similar)

It’s not important per se, and not everyone is in the group. But it does come in handy.

Is it so weird to imagine that having a shared communication space for one's neighborhood is desirable? There's a group for my neighborhood in Houston that's great for referrals (e.g., electricians), or notes about neighborhood businesses, etc. I can't imagine this idea is uniquely American, but maybe it is.

Yes, parents often participate in PTAs. Parent engagement is a big deal in education.

Yes, in many places in the US there are food trucks. People often enjoy them. Finding out where a given truck will be on Tuesday is useful!

Businesses generally keep Facebook pages in the US, usually as a supplement to a real web site, but also because Facebook has traditionally been where everyone is already.

What is a food truck? Can it dump the food in my mouth?

Super-local news and gossip may be very relevant. I am not on Facebook, but I think I am missing out on it. For example, why was there a police car parked two blocks away last Thursday? Someone might have posted about it.

Citizen answers this question better than Facebook

Nextdoor also used to do it well, but it has become like Facebook with flame wars and political craziness.

>I think people have become more vary to post personal things online. I know very little parents that would be okay to publish pictures of their kids online (including on Facebook).

I have a few Facebook friends that refuse to post pictures of their kids on Facebook. I also have a LOT of friends that post nothing but.

I quit Facebook three years ago. Deleted all my posts and just left one of my cat. The internet was originally made to share pictures of your cat.

I'm working on another option for some of these things on my platform, Tosslet: https://tosslet.com

Would love some feedback on if you think it would help solve communications from: 1) PTA -> resident 2) Food Trucks -> nearby people

Your main non-social-media competitor here is probably going to be https://www.remind.com/, and I really can't see you winning, especially when you charge as much as you do. (I initially misread your pricing, but $0.60 is still kind of a lot.)

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