Day 150: Nextdoor's Missing Veterans Day Message — A Great Uniter, or Just When It's Convenient?

As I'm writing this, it's past 12:00 PM Eastern, 11:00 AM Central, and 9:00 AM Pacific.

I've covered all the time zones. You're welcome. 😂

And today is Day 150 of my ongoing Nextdoor case study.

Before writing this post, I checked Nextdoor's corporate blog, X, Facebook, and LinkedIn. I wanted to see what the company said today.

I even took a screenshot of the Nextdoor blog. No editing, no enhancements, no creative manipulation. Just a screenshot of what was published.

And you know what was missing?

A simple thank-you to the veterans of the United States of America.

Happy Veterans Day. Or apparently, not from Nextdoor.

Today is Veterans Day. A day to recognize the men and women who have served in the United States Armed Forces.

These are people who have put their lives on the line in service to their country, protecting the freedoms, liberties, and safety that allow the rest of us to live and work here.

You would think a company like Nextdoor, which regularly promotes itself as a platform that brings neighbors and communities together, might find a few words to recognize them.

But looking at the corporate blog and social media channels I checked, I couldn't find a Veterans Day message.

The screenshot shows what was on the Nextdoor blog when I checked. The latest posts included a dining survey, product updates, and neighborhood stories.

Nothing recognizing Veterans Day.

Was there a scheduling problem? Did someone forget to put it on the corporate calendar? Did the communications team decide it wasn't worth posting?

I have no idea. But it certainly seems like a missed opportunity.

Other companies managed to remember

Let's look at a few examples.

At 10:26 AM Eastern, I received an email from Applebee's with the subject:

"Proud to Serve Those Who Proudly Serve."

Applebee's was offering veterans a free meal at its restaurants.

Fanatics was offering discounts of up to 50%.

IHOP was also offering free meals to veterans.

These businesses found ways to recognize veterans through their marketing and customer communications.

And before anyone jumps in, I understand that these are promotional offers. They're also examples of companies making an effort to acknowledge people who have served the country.

It doesn't take a massive advertising campaign or an elaborate production to say thank you.

A simple social media post would have worked.

A corporate blog post could have been scheduled in advance.

An email could have gone out first thing in the morning.

It's not as if Veterans Day sneaks up on the calendar every year.

The great uniter?

This is where the irony comes in.

Nextdoor, led by Nirav Tolia, promotes bringing neighbors together. The company talks about community, connection, and creating a platform where people can engage with those around them.

But my experience with Nextdoor has raised plenty of questions about how well that message translates into practice.

I've written about inconsistent moderation, censorship concerns, how users who provide feedback are treated, and what I see as a pay-to-play advertising environment that can be challenging for small businesses.

I've also questioned how a platform that relies on community participation handles the people who contribute to that community.

And now, on a day when the country recognizes its veterans, I can't find a simple message from Nextdoor acknowledging them on the corporate channels I checked.

Maybe I'm expecting too much.

But if you're going to position your company as the great uniter, recognizing the people who served the country that makes your business possible seems like a pretty easy place to start.

It's not about a free meal or a discount

Let me make one thing clear.

This isn't about expecting Nextdoor to provide veterans with a free meal, a discount, or some special promotion.

It's about recognition.

A few sentences thanking veterans for their service would have been appropriate. It would have taken very little effort and would have been a positive message for the company to share with its audience.

Instead, I found myself looking through the company's blog and social media channels, wondering why this was missing.

And yes, I'm going to ask the question:

Does Nextdoor simply not consider Veterans Day important enough to acknowledge?

I can't tell you why the message wasn't there. I can only tell you what I saw when I checked.

But it makes for an interesting contrast with the company's public messaging about community and connection.

Day 150: My two cents

Today, I'd like to take a moment away from Nextdoor's stock price, earnings reports, research methodology, advertising strategy, and unanswered emails.

To the veterans of the United States of America:

Thank you for your service. Thank you for your sacrifices. And thank you for helping protect the freedoms we sometimes take for granted.

As for Nextdoor, maybe someone in the communications department can put Veterans Day on the calendar next year.

It's November 11. Every year.

Nirav, your company talks a lot about bringing people together. Sometimes the simplest way to do that is to recognize the people who have served us all.

That's my two cents.

Day 150. Happy Veterans Day to those who served.