DES PLAINES, Ill. (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Facebook is looking to take on the hyperlocal app Nextdoor and a Chicago suburb is among the communities chosen as a test market for what it calls Facebook Neighborhoods.
Des Plaines is among a dozen U.S. cities where Facebook is testing Facebook Neighborhoods.
"It centralized all the local groups that you could be apart of into one place where you could just go and join all of them, and then going forward participate in all of them using Neighborhoods," said a Facebook rep.
Des Plaines Mayor Andrew Goczkowski told CBS 2, ““I think the fact that Facebook recognized that Des Plaines has a robust online community of people who are talking to their neighbors and connecting with their neighbors – and talking about issues that matter – is great.
“Facebook chose well, and they’re going to be happy with the results."
So, why take on the well-established Next Door?
Ed Mierzwinski tracks data privacy with the U.S. Public Interest Research Group.
"They want to take over all social media," he said. "And so the first step is to copy the best ideas of Nextdoor. The second step will be to crush them, in my view.”
He said Facebook Neighborhoods is essentially a vehicle to target advertising.
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