Day 46: Welcome to the Nextdoor Weekend
It's 6:00 a.m. EDT on a Thursday.
Like many Thursday mornings, I was up early checking my fraternity's lottery pool tickets.
Spoiler alert...
We didn't win millions.
I know. Shocking.
The odds continue to be very disrespectful toward our group.
After posting the results and setting up the next pool on Discord, I had another thought.
I said to myself...
"Self, let's see if anyone from Nextdoor finally sent an email."
So I checked.
And...
Nope.
If you've been following this journey, you already know the story.
If you haven't, you can catch up at NielFlamm.com/blog.
Today isn't about rehashing the timeline.
It's about what Day 46 represents.
Forty-six days without receiving the study I requested.
Forty-six days without a response from Jacob Chavis.
Forty-six days of documenting my experience and asking questions about communication, moderation, and corporate culture.
Today is Thursday.
For many people, it's Friday Eve.
I've always called it "Pre-Friday."
But in the world of Nextdoor...
It also feels like the beginning of the weekend.
Because when you've gone 46 days without a reply, one more business day probably isn't changing the outcome.
That doesn't mean I'll stop asking.
Communication shouldn't take weekends off.
Neither should accountability.
I'll keep hope that one day, someone at Nextdoor decides the conversation is worth having.
Join the discussion at NielFlamm.com/blog. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
The Tiny Device I Wish I Had Taken Seriously Years Ago
The Tiny Device I Wish I Had Taken Seriously Years Ago
How a Continuous Glucose Monitor Helped Me Build Better Habits
I'm going to be super vulnerable.
One of the reasons my body is in the shape it's in today is because I didn't manage my diabetes and insulin resistance the way I should have.
I ate poorly.
I didn't exercise consistently.
I rarely checked my blood glucose.
Why? Because the traditional process was a drag.
It went something like this...
* Wash my hands.
* Get the glucose monitor.
* Find a test strip.
* Grab the lancet.
* Stick my finger.
* Hope I got just the right amount of blood on the strip.
* Wait for the reading.
* Write it down.
* Do it all over again several times a day.
And let's not forget...it hurts. Fingertips have a lot of nerve endings, and after enough finger sticks, you start looking for reasons to skip it.
So I skipped it.
Looking back, I wish I hadn't.
Today, I live with an above-the-knee amputation, kidney failure requiring dialysis, and vision problems. While many factors can contribute to complications like these, years of poorly managed diabetes likely played a significant role in my situation.
I can't change those decisions.
But I can change today's.
Better Habits Beat Perfect Habits
I've known about Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGMs) for years.
The idea always made perfect sense.
Put on a sensor.
Go live my life.
See my glucose levels throughout the day instead of taking occasional snapshots.
Notice trends.
Get alerts.
Share the data with my endocrinologist.
The problem?
Because I'm not insulin-dependent, Medicare doesn't cover one for me. My diabetes has been managed with oral medications in the past and now Ozempic, so I didn't qualify for an insurance-paid CGM.
When Stelo became available, I jumped at the chance.
It's based on Dexcom technology, works through a subscription, and gives me exactly what I wanted—continuous insight into what my blood sugar is doing without constantly stabbing my fingers.
Even better, the data can be shared with my endocrinologist, giving us much better information than a handful of random finger-stick readings.
A Pleasant Surprise
Recently, I opened the Stelo app on my Android phone and immediately noticed something had changed.
Wow.
The redesign is impressive.
Unfortunately, I didn't take screenshots of the old version, but it was functional—it got the job done.
The new version feels much more polished and informative.
Now I can quickly see:
* The percentage of time I'm in my target range.
* Whether I'm running above, within, or below that range.
* Seven-day glucose trends in an easy-to-read graph.
* Additional ways to connect and review my data.
It's one of those updates that isn't just prettier—it actually makes the information easier to understand at a glance.
If You're On the Fence...
Whether someone is diabetic, prediabetic, or simply curious about how food, stress, exercise, or sleep affects blood sugar—and doesn't qualify for an insurance-sponsored CGM—I think Stelo is worth looking into.
No, this isn't sponsored.
Nobody sent me a free device.
Nobody paid me to write this.
I'm simply sharing something that has made it easier for me to build healthier habits.
If one small sensor can help someone avoid even a fraction of what I've gone through, then sharing my story is worth it.
Sometimes the biggest improvements don't come from massive life changes.
Sometimes they come from removing one small barrier that kept us from doing the right thing in the first place.
If sharing my story encourages even one person to take control of their health before complications develop, then being vulnerable today was absolutely worth it.
Join the discussion on NielFlamm.com.
📊 The Good, the Bad, and the Website Metrics
Transparency matters.
One of the things I want to do with NielFlamm.com is share the journey—the wins, the losses, and everything in between. So today, I thought I'd pull back the curtain a bit.
First, thank you.
Seriously.
Whether you've visited once, read a blog post, watched one of my movie reviews, listened to a podcast, or stopped by to see what kind of internet garbage I posted this week, I appreciate you. Even more, thank you to everyone who has taken the time to send feedback, leave comments, or reach out directly. It means more than you probably realize.
Now for the numbers.
Compared to last month:
Unique Visits are down about 37%.
Visits are also down about 37%.
Page Views are down about 20%.
Do I love seeing that? Of course not.
Do I panic? Also no.
The reality is... I don't know exactly why.
It could be seasonal. Summer vacations, kids out of school, people spending more time outside than staring at another screen (probably a healthy decision).
It could be that social media algorithms decided my posts should be shown to approximately three people, and one of them was probably my mom.
It seems my content isn’t resonating as much.
Maybe people are just busy.
Maybe search engine rankings shifted.
Maybe some readers are waiting for me to write about something they're especially interested in.
Or maybe the internet decided to internet.
The honest answer is... I don't know.
I enjoy creating content, and I'm continuing to invest in making the site better.
Over the last couple of months, I've added a few tools.
I've talked quite a bit about using ChatGPT to help organize ideas and polish content. My website is hosted on Squarespace, and I recently added Linguise to provide translations into multiple languages.
None of these companies are sponsors...
...yet. 😄
One interesting thing Linguise lets me see is which translated versions of the site are being viewed.
The results surprised me.
The most viewed translated language?
Russian.
That's right...
Russian.
Tell Comrade Putin I said hello.
After Russian came German, Japanese, and Chinese, even though most of my overall traffic still comes from China.
I honestly don't know what to make of that yet, but it's fascinating to watch.
The analytics raise more questions than answers, and that's part of the fun.
For those who have followed along, you already know this isn't my profession.
I'm not a programmer.
I'm not a marketer.
I'm not in corporate communications.
I'm just someone with life experiences, stories, opinions, recovery, movie reviews, technology observations, customer service experiences, and the occasional questionable joke that I hope connects with someone somewhere in the world.
If something resonates with you, fantastic.
If something doesn't, I'd like to know that too.
I'd love your feedback.
Leave a comment on the site or email me at niel@nielflamm.com.
Please tell me what you like.
Please tell me what you skip.
Please tell me what you'd like to see more of.
This website has always been about starting conversations, and I hope we keep having them.
Thank you for being part of the journey.
Here's to next month's numbers... hopefully they're pointing in the other direction.
Day 45: Community or Rhetoric?
Today I have three thoughts. Buckle up.
1. Community Isn't Just Something You Say
Nirav Tolia recently shared another clip from his conversation with David Begnaud.
🎥 Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GtufEetKuE
Around 40 seconds into the video, Nirav talks about community.
That got me thinking.
A quick Google search defines community as:
"People care about each other and feel like they belong."
Another definition reads:
"An online space where people connect through the internet to share ideas."
Those are great definitions.
But community isn't just something we talk about.
It's something we demonstrate.
How is Nextdoor demonstrating community when users can't provide meaningful feedback on the platform itself, when questions continue to be raised about a moderation model that frustrates many users, and when a straightforward email requesting a study goes unanswered?
That brings me to...
2. Day 45
Today marks Day 45 since I asked Jacob Chavis for a study.
Forty-five days.
No study.
No acknowledgment.
No response.
I've posted every day because, to me, marketing videos don't measure communication and community—they're measured by how people are treated when they ask respectful questions.
3. Consistency Works Both Ways
Today, Nextdoor Communications shared this blog post:
📖 Small Moments, Big Ripples: Neighbor Stories from Nextdoor
https://blog.nextdoor.com/small-moments-big-ripples-neighbor-stories-from-nextdoor-1
The theme?
Consistency.
That word caught my attention.
I've also been consistent.
Over the past 45 days, I've documented what I believe is a lack of communication, a lack of meaningful engagement, and concerns about how community is being practiced versus how it's being described.
Consistency isn't only about publishing positive stories.
It's also about responding consistently when someone reaches out in good faith.
Finally, a quick note for fellow shareholders.
The stock is up marginally today, but my outlook remains bearish heading into earnings.
If the next report shows another loss—even if it's smaller—no dividend, and the same messaging without meaningful operational change, the market will likely react negatively.
Time will tell.
Join the discussion at NielFlamm.com/blog. I'd love to hear your perspective.
The Lotto Dudes Are Back... Because Apparently We Like Losing Money 😂🎰
Well...
Someone in Florida won the $800 million Mega Millions jackpot last night.
It wasn't me.
I know.
Shocking.
I didn't suddenly develop the ability to teleport across state lines, nor did I secretly buy a ticket in Florida. So congratulations to whoever now has to hire accountants, lawyers, and a therapist to explain why their third cousin they've never met suddenly wants to "catch up."
As for the Lotto Dudes...
We won...
🥁🥁🥁
$34.
Good money after bad.
It's okay. We consider it a dividend.
So what did we do?
The obvious thing.
We're doing it again.
This time we've got 10 fraternity brothers throwing in $10 each.
Using advanced mathematics, that equals...
$100.
With that, we're buying 50 Powerball tickets for a shot at the $663 million jackpot.
The estimated cash value is $290.4 million.
Split ten ways...
That's just over $29 million each.
Not billionaire money...
...but definitely enough money for ten fraternity brothers who still act like the cast of Old School.
I can already picture it.
Frank "The Tank" would somehow convince us that jumping off the roof into a kiddie pool is a sound financial decision.
Someone would suggest bringing back streaking because, "We're rich now. What are they going to do, fine us?"
Blue would somehow become our financial advisor because, despite being asleep half the movie, he was probably making the most sense.
And there would absolutely be one brother trying to start a fraternity chapter in a retirement community because "the dues are tax deductible."
Meanwhile, I'd be the responsible one...
...right up until I bought a Corvette, a beach house, a lifetime supply of Costco snacks, and a golf cart just to drive from the mailbox back to the front door.
The odds are terrible.
The investment strategy is questionable.
The entertainment value?
Absolutely priceless.
Good luck to all the Lotto Dudes.
Maybe this time we'll be writing about how we turned $100 into $290.4 million...
...instead of another blog post explaining why our ROI belongs in a museum.