Citizen vs. Nextdoor: My First Few Days of Real-World Use
After spending the last few days using the Citizen app alongside my ongoing experience with Nextdoor (which I’m still accessing through a parody email account for research), the differences have been hard to ignore.
Citizen has been refreshingly simple.
I haven’t been bombarded with emails all day long. I don’t see my feed cluttered with advertisements. I can immediately see how many users are active within a small radius of my location, and that number updates as I travel.
I also like that Citizen offers optional premium features, such as access to local police and fire radio feeds. I haven’t subscribed yet, but it’s a straightforward value proposition: if it’s useful to you, you pay for it.
One feature I find especially interesting is the ability to livestream an incident. Rather than relying on speculation or secondhand accounts, users can provide a real-time, firsthand view of what’s happening. Citizen also offers contributors opportunities to earn money for qualifying content.
Compare that with my experience on Nextdoor.
Even after trying to reduce notifications, the platform continues to generate a steady stream of emails about everything from barking dogs to garbage cans left at the curb overnight. The text feed is saturated with advertising. Users generate the content, volunteer moderators enforce the rules without compensation, yet there is no meaningful opportunity for contributors to share in the value they create.
As someone who has written extensively about Nextdoor as a shareholder and user, I expected another neighborhood app. Instead, I found a platform that, at least in my early experience, feels more focused, less intrusive, and more useful.
The clear winner for me so far is Citizen.
For transparency, Citizen is not a publicly traded company. I have no financial interest in it. I’m simply evaluating it as a user. If the company ever went public, it’s one I’d seriously consider researching as a potential investment.
What has your experience been with neighborhood and community apps? Have you used Citizen, Nextdoor, or both? I’d be interested in hearing your perspective.
Join the discussion on NielFlamm.com.
My Future Ex-Wife Is Going to Be So Proud 💰😂
The lottery refuses to cooperate with my retirement plans.
So here we are again.
🎟️ Mega Millions: $672 million (Friday)
🎟️ Powerball: $526 million (Saturday)
That’s nearly $1.2 BILLION just sitting there, waiting for someone to claim it.
I’ve been thinking about what I’d do if I won.
Sure, I’d take care of my family.
I’d help the communities and causes that have been important to me.
I’d make sure my friends were doing okay. (If we haven’t spoken since MySpace, this is probably a bad time to reconnect.)
But after the responsible stuff…
Things could get a little weird.
I’d found the world’s most exclusive underground fraternity: Omega Cucumber Omega (Ω🥒Ω).
The initiation? Standing in a circle while everyone gets pelted with cucumbers. Why cucumbers? Because billionaires don’t have to explain themselves.
Our official motto?
“Making poor financial decisions so you don’t have to.”
Annual dues would be exactly $1, because we’re not in it for the money.
There would be a Board of Directors whose only responsibility is debating whether Tuesdays should officially become “Wear Hawaiian Shirts While Grocery Shopping Day.”
I’d sponsor a competitive professional nap league.
I’d hire someone whose full-time job is reminding me where I left my phone.
I’d create a scholarship for people who have never said, “Reply all.”
I’d buy a beach house.
I’d buy a sweet ride.
And yes… somewhere in there I’d probably meet my future ex-wife. At least we’d have a beautiful view during the divorce negotiations.
Will any of this happen?
Probably not.
Will I spend a few bucks dreaming about it?
Absolutely.
Sometimes the ticket isn’t about the jackpot. It’s about spending a couple of days imagining a life where your biggest problem is deciding whether your pet llama should have its own swimming pool.
Good luck this weekend!
And if you win because this blog reminded you to buy a ticket… remember who believed in you before you were rich.
调音师》电影评论现已推出普通话版本（简体中文字幕）
我很高兴地宣布，《调音师》电影评论现已推出普通话版本，并配有简体中文字幕！
无论您来自中国，还是世界其他地区，只要您使用普通话或阅读简体中文，现在都可以轻松观看并欣赏这部电影评论。
我的目标是让 NielFlamm.com 的内容能够被更多国家和地区的观众看到。随着越来越多来自中国和亚洲其他地区的读者和观众访问网站，我希望通过提供更多中文内容，与大家分享电影、科技、生活以及更多有趣的话题。
如果您已经观看了这期《调音师》电影评论，欢迎告诉我您的看法！您的反馈也将帮助我决定未来还应该推出哪些普通话版本的内容。
感谢您的支持，祝您观影愉快！
Helping Launch A Godd3ss3s Cr3ation Has Strengthened My Recovery
One of the projects I’m most proud to be involved with right now is helping launch A Godd3ss3s Cr3ation at https://agodd3ss3scr3ation.com.
Most people know me through NielFlamm.com, where I write about everything from leadership and AI to movie reviews, recovery, and whatever else catches my attention. This project, however, has become something much more personal.
Working alongside Godd3ss Aisha and Godd3ss Alicia has given me the opportunity to help build something centered on healthy living, mindfulness, self-care, and becoming a better version of myself.
What surprised me is how much it has helped me.
I’ve been sober for many years now, and I’ve learned that recovery isn’t simply about not taking a drink. That’s where it starts—not where it ends.
Recovery is about taking care of my mind.
My body.
My soul.
It’s about the people I surround myself with, the conversations I have, and the thoughts I allow into my life.
As I help edit blog posts, brainstorm ideas, and publish articles for A Godd3ss3s Cr3ation, I’m constantly reading about gratitude, letting go, protecting your peace, managing stress, self-care, healthy habits, and slowing down long enough to check in with myself.
I can’t spend hours editing articles about becoming healthier without asking myself if I’m doing the same.
The blogs aren’t just helping readers.
They’re helping me.
I’ve always believed that if I'm around positive people long enough, some of that positivity rubs off on me. The discussions I have with Aisha and Alicia aren’t about gossip or negativity. They’re about growth, healing, perspective, and trying to become better than we were yesterday.
That reinforces the principles I’ve tried to live by throughout my recovery.
One thing I’ve learned is that sobriety requires maintenance. It isn’t something you accomplish once and never think about again. Just like physical fitness, healthy relationships, or a successful career, recovery requires attention.
Helping launch A Godd3ss3s Cr3ation has become part of that maintenance for me.
If one of our blogs encourages someone to pause before reacting…
If it inspires someone to take better care of themselves…
If it helps someone choose hope over despair…
Or simply reminds someone that they’re worth investing in…
Then we’ve accomplished something worthwhile.
If you haven’t visited the site yet, I’d love for you to take a look.
Visit https://agodd3ss3scr3ation.com, spend a few minutes reading through the Blog, and if you enjoy what you find, subscribe. It’s completely free, and you’ll receive new articles as they’re published.
And if a particular blog resonates with you, please share it with someone you care about. You never know whose day—or life—you might brighten with a simple act of kindness.
Thank you to Godd3ss Aisha and Godd3ss Alicia for trusting me to help bring this vision to life. It’s been a rewarding experience, and one that continues to strengthen my own journey every day.
🥵 Summer Called… It Wants Its Temperature Back
I was out running errands around 3:00 PM EDT today, and my car’s thermometer looked like it had simply given up.
Then there was the humidity—easily 80% or more. You know the kind. You step outside, and your shirt immediately files for divorce from being dry.
The official temperature may have been one thing, but it felt like 200°F. I half expected to see eggs frying on the hood and my prosthetic asking for air conditioning.
If you saw someone sprinting from the parking lot to the nearest building, there was a good chance it was me. Stay cool, stay hydrated, and if you’re in the South, remember: you’re not sweating… you’re just slowly becoming part of the atmosphere.