Ghost of Midnight

… about neighbors, community and Front Porch Forum

College Students tuning in to Neighborhood

Posted on Wednesday, August 29, 2007 by No comments yet

Last school year we had many college students sign up with Front Porch Forum. Now, with a new school year kicking off, we’re seeing dozens of them registering each day this week… University of Vermont, Champlain College, St. Michael’s College, Burlington College, etc.

That’s great! Burlington has its share of town-gown challenges, including a small percentage of ill-behaving off-campus students giving all college kids a bad name. So we were thrilled when students started joining their neighborhood’s FPF forum and posting messages like…

Hi – I’m Kelly and I’m living on Prospect St this year in an apartment with two friends. I’m a junior studying to be a teacher and I’m looking for babysitting jobs during the school year to help pay tuition. References available.

Good for Kelly. Good for the neighborhood. Now instead of just the drunken lout passed out in their hedge on Sunday morning, nearby homeowners have a competing image in mind… hard-working college kid.

It’s interesting too to chat with some of these students about FPF and how it compares with other online social networking services that they know so well… Facebook, etc. Bottom line seems to be… Front Porch Forum is, simply, different. If you care about your neighborhood or want to connect with your nearby neighbors, it’s the only place to go.

So, welcome back to town students! And welcome to Front Porch Forum.

P.S.  One more point… I’ve been surprised by the geographic dispersion of the college students across the county.  While there’s a concentration in the well known “student ghetto” near the UVM main campus, we’re also seeing a number of students sign up in small outlying villages, rural areas and suburbs.

Posted in: Burlington, College Students, Community Building, Front Porch Forum, Local Online, Neighborhood, Social Media, Stories


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