Day 38: Context Matters

Nextdoor recently shared another feel-good story on LinkedIn about a lost tortoise and a neighborhood coming together to help.

It's a great story.

What caught my attention, however, was what wasn't included in the LinkedIn post.

In the accompanying NPR article by Alina Hartounian, the story notes that both Facebook and Nextdoor were used to help spread the word—with Facebook mentioned first. The LinkedIn post, by contrast, highlights only Nextdoor's role. To me, that leaves out important context about how the community effort came together.

It also raised a few questions.

I wonder whether Alina Hartounian is aware of the criticism some users have raised regarding Nextdoor's moderation and communication practices. NPR has a long history of reporting on issues involving free expression, transparency, and the role of the First Amendment in public discourse. While the First Amendment limits government restrictions on speech rather than private companies' moderation decisions, NPR has frequently covered debates about censorship, platform moderation, and the importance of open dialogue. That made me curious how those broader conversations intersect with reporting on social media platforms.

At the same time, Nextdoor's CEO, Nirav Tolia, continues to lead a company whose LinkedIn posts do not permit public comments. As someone who values feedback and discussion, I find that contrast noteworthy.

Today is also Day 38 since I requested a Nextdoor study. I still have not received the study or a response. At this point, I continue to wonder whether the document is intended primarily as a marketing or lead-generation asset rather than research distributed broadly upon request. I don't know the answer, but the continued silence naturally raises the question.

Transparency isn't just about the stories we tell.

It's also about the context we provide, the conversations we allow, and the questions we're willing to answer.

What are your thoughts?

Join the discussion on NielFlamm.com.

Battle of the Shave Butters: Round 1 — Scent

After spending at least a week with my new challenger, it's finally time to begin the comparison.

Welcome to Round 1 of the shave butter showdown:

Dollar Shave Club vs. Van Der Hagen.

This first round is all about one thing...

The smell.

When I open a tube of Dollar Shave Club Shave Butter, the scent reminds me of butter you'd use in the kitchen. Think baking a cake, making macaroni and cheese, or one of those rich French dishes where the chef believes there is no such thing as too much butter. It's a pleasant, warm scent that I've grown to enjoy over the years.

The Van Der Hagen Shave Butter is completely different.

To me, it smells very similar to Cetaphil, a well-known line of gentle skincare cleansers and moisturizers designed for sensitive skin. Cetaphil products are fragrance-light, non-irritating, and formulated to help cleanse while maintaining the skin's natural moisture barrier. Many dermatologists recommend them for people with dry or sensitive skin.

Now, here's where a completely unrelated story comes in.

Years ago, while attending a recovery meeting in Las Vegas, I was either chairing the meeting or filling in as the secretary. The person I was serving with mentioned skincare, and somehow the conversation turned to Cetaphil. They commented that crystal meth smelled like Cetaphil.

Whether that's accurate or not, I have no idea.

What I do know is that I wasn't particularly fond of the scent before hearing that story, and afterward I gravitated toward it even less. Funny how our brains make associations that stick with us for years.

That doesn't mean Van Der Hagen is a bad product. This is simply my personal reaction to the fragrance.

There are several more rounds to come—glide, razor feel, closeness of shave, skin hydration, value, and overall performance—but if we're scoring only Round 1: Scent, there's a clear winner for me.

🥊 Round 1 Winner: Dollar Shave Club Shave Butter.

What do you think? Have you tried either of these shave butters? Do scents influence your buying decisions, or is performance all that matters?

Join the discussion on NielFlamm.com.

The Worst Trifecta: When “Authenticity” Sounds Manufactured

I took a drive today from Mount Pleasant to Summerville with SiriusXM playing in the car. I don’t remember which channel I started on—possibly Hits 1 with Mack & Jen—but I do love the commercial-free experience.


Then an Alex Warren song came on.


I immediately changed the station.


The next channel was playing Teddy Swims.


I changed it again.


Then came Adele.


For me, it was the worst musical trifecta imaginable.


All three artists are celebrated for vulnerability, soulfulness, and deeply personal storytelling. Yet their music strikes me as highly manufactured—less connected to everyday people and more connected to the massive machine that is the modern music industry.


Adele is often presented as an artist who represents “every woman,” yet the face-value prices for her Caesars Palace residency were beyond the reach of many everyday fans.


Alex Warren has spoken publicly about his personal struggles, but some of his comments about his wife’s weight may be perceived as body-shaming. That creates a disconnect for me between the vulnerability associated with his image and the way those remarks can land with listeners.


Teddy Swims is marketed as a singer with tremendous soul. However, his comments about AI-generated music complicate that image for me. Music created with artificial intelligence raises difficult questions about authenticity, creative labor, and what happens when technology begins replacing the contributions of professional musicians.


These examples—and others—are why I change the station every time one of these artists comes through my speakers. Their music may resonate deeply with millions of listeners, but it doesn’t resonate with me. What others hear as authenticity, I hear as carefully packaged vulnerability.


Of course, music is intensely personal. One listener’s heartfelt anthem is another listener’s reason to change the station.


What are your thoughts? Do these artists feel authentic and relatable to you, or do you also hear the machinery of the music industry behind their stories?


Leave a comment and join the conversation.


Join the conversation at NielFlamm.com/blog

Day 37: Building a Brand vs. Repairing One

Yesterday, Nextdoor CEO Nirav Tolia shared a clip from a podcast interview with David Bergnaud on X:

https://x.com/niravtolia/status/2079617582869684510

I intentionally use the word participated.

Early in my career, I completed an unpaid internship with a small public relations agency in New York City. We shared office space with a web development company, pitched stories to journalists, worked to secure media opportunities for clients, and attended technology events at the Javits Center.

One lesson I learned is that, unless you're already a household name, podcast appearances rarely happen by chance. Public relations teams develop a strategy and actively work to place executives in front of audiences to expand brand awareness.

That made me think.

If time and resources are being invested in expanding the Nextdoor brand, shouldn't equal attention be given to strengthening the product and the customer experience behind that brand?

A compelling interview can create awareness, but awareness alone doesn't define a company's identity. Products, communication, and user experience do.

That brings me to Day 37.

It has now been 37 days since I requested a copy of a Nextdoor study that company communications directed readers to request from Jacob Chavis.

I still haven't received the study.

After reviewing similar job descriptions, my opinion has evolved. I now wonder whether the role is less about leading research operations and more focused on helping businesses understand and use research to support advertising decisions. I don't know if that's the case, but it's one possible explanation for why a straightforward request has remained unanswered for more than a month.

Regardless of the reason, this has become less about the study itself and more about communication.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again:

We tolerate what we allow.

As a shareholder, I believe companies should welcome thoughtful questions and respond to reasonable requests. That is how trust is built—with users, advertisers, employees, and investors alike.

Join the discussion on NielFlamm.com.

Perspective at 2:15 A.M.: Grateful for Modern Medicine

It's 2:15 a.m. EDT, and apparently I'm still not tired.

After writing about Nextdoor, I found myself doing what many of us do far too late at night—doom scrolling. A Facebook Reel stopped me in my tracks. It was about anesthesia, and it gave me a whole new perspective.

If you'd like to watch it, here's the Reel that inspired this post:

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1TT4xxcoQT/

Before I get to that, I want to say something that I don't think I say often enough.

I'm incredibly grateful for where science and medicine are today.

Because of medical advancements, I have a prosthetic leg that allows me to walk and continues to improve with every generation. Because of dialysis, I'm not days away from dying from the toxins that my kidneys can no longer remove. Because of modern eye surgery, I can once again see clearly after having my cataracts removed.

Then I watched the video.

It explained what surgery was like before anesthesia became common. Imagine undergoing an amputation while fully awake. Patients would bite down on a piece of wood or leather, assistants would hold down each limb, and the surgeon would work as quickly as possible. People would feel the pain, pass out from it, wake back up, and endure it again until the operation was finished.

I can't imagine it.

One thing we often overlook is that anesthesia doesn't just put us to sleep. It also helps prevent us from remembering the experience. That's an incredible gift.

As I thought about it, I realized how many surgeries I've had over my lifetime. It started with an appendectomy at Mount Sinai Hospital on the Upper East Side of New York City, when I was 19 or 20 years old. Since then, there have been many more procedures.

I'm thankful that I don't remember them.

It's easy to focus on what medicine can't do yet. But now and then it's worth stopping to appreciate what it already has done. Millions of people—including me—are living longer, healthier, and more fulfilling lives because of generations of scientists, physicians, nurses, engineers, researchers, and innovators who kept pushing forward.

Sometimes all it takes is a late-night video to remind us just how fortunate we are.