Day #5: Still Waiting for a Study That Shouldn’t Be This Hard to Share

On Monday evening, I requested the complete Home Insurance Insights study that Nextdoor referenced in its blog. I wasn’t looking for a headline—I wanted the methodology, demographics, sample size, and supporting data behind the conclusions.

It’s now Saturday. Day #5.

I haven’t received the study.

I haven’t received an acknowledgment.

I haven’t even received a simple, “We’re looking into it.”

As I’ve said before, this isn’t surprising.

Maybe if I were a major institutional investor, a national advertiser, or an unpaid moderator who never questioned the status quo, my email would have been answered.

Instead, I’m simply a shareholder asking Nextdoor, CEO Nirav Tolia, and Jacob Chavis to follow through on the transparency they promote.

That raises a larger question:

If this is the experience for an investor asking for publicly referenced research, what happens when a local neighborhood advertiser has an issue?

Do they simply take a number like they’re waiting at the DMV? Or like the waiting room in Beetlejuice, hoping their number is eventually called while everyone else stares into the void?

It also made me think about the modern gig economy.

Ride-share companies connect riders and drivers. Food delivery platforms connect restaurants, customers, and couriers. Increasingly, those same companies are investing heavily in automation and AI to reduce reliance on human labor over time.

Nextdoor often speaks about AI as the future, but its value ultimately comes from real neighbors and local businesses creating the content and community that make the platform useful. If those relationships aren’t supported with responsive service and transparency, the “neighborly” vision becomes much harder to believe.

Technology should strengthen human connection—not replace it.