I got a bizarre email from Zillow last week:
Hello ,
Since you claimed your home at , you might like to know you’re part of the DISC neighborhood on Zillow. This is a brand-new feature – literally, we just rolled it out – and we would like to ask your help in getting it started.
By taking part in your Neighborhood Page on Zillow, you can help make Zillow a useful resource for other people like you.
Visit your DEMO Neighborhood Page now!
See you in the neighborhood,
Of course the links didn’t work and my neighborhood “DISC” seemed like a broken email. Now it appears that this email was a mistake and the new Zillow Neighborhood Page is now active. The folks in my neighborhood that registered with Zillow and some bizarre 2000 census information for people to learn about my neighborhood are mashed together with some sort of map. Zillow has written some pretty words about my neighborhood (and probably every other one) to help real estate agents sell their properties. According to Zillow:
Who Lives Here
Movers and Shakers
Mobile suburban couples without kids. More than 50% of these younger married couples have moved in the past five years. They earn comfortable incomes and work in management or professional careers. Some have completed college.
Country Clubbers
Wealthy married couples with children. These affluent families live a very comfortable life in the suburbs. More than 20% have a family income over $125,000. Most have earned a college or graduate school degree, and most own their homes.
Suburban Climbers
Younger suburban singles. Aspiring singles climbing the corporate ladder and calling the suburbs home. Age ranges from mid-20s to mid-40s. Most rent their homes.
People in my neighborhood are also more likely to “Drive to work alone”. Damn, they got me pegged perfectly (except for the part that I am more likely to speak Hindi) Seriously though, what are they going to write in that “who lives here”? I’m pretty sure every category is spun up to make it seem like everyone is living in Beverly Hills.
OK all joking aside, I find this somewhat unnerving. It isn’t that I don’t mind knowing who my neighbors are, its just that I’d rather meet them on the sidewalk and not in some virtual chat room.
