Yearly Archives: 2006

Birmingham Neighborhoods Online

Posted on Tuesday, November 21, 2006 by No comments yet

An article in The Birmingham News by Hannah Wolfson last month (thanks to Keith Hampton for pointing it out) outlines neighborhood-level online activity around Birmingham, Alabama. The stories she relays are happening with Front Porch Forum neighborhoods too… very similar.

They’re part of a growing movement across the metro area, where residents are turning the Internet into a virtual back fence, sharing issues ranging from break-ins to home sales to the latest gossip.

“People are hungry for this. People are concerned about their community,” said Robin Schultz, who founded Bluff Park’s Web site in August after an armed robbery at a nearby Piggly Wiggly. “They just don’t have a way to address these concerns, and the Internet provides an avenue for people to communicate in their little portion of the world.”

“Everybody’s so busy these days,” said Matthew Coleman, a resident of South Avondale who started an online forum for his neighborhood in July. “Most everybody has access to the Web, so it’s a good place to store phone numbers and have a list about who’s a reliable contractor and who’s not. It’s like a small little neighborhood library.”

The Front Porch Forum model works great in residential areas dominated by families, and now we’re seeing it work in more urban, rural and small town settings. The need to connect with neighbors appears to flow across many parts of U.S. society at this time. More from the Birmingham article:

Such groups help neighbors form closer bonds, said Keith Hampton, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School of Communication who has been researching neighborhood forums for eight years.

He said the forums work everywhere from dense urban locations to far-flung suburbs.

“People in the United States do not spend a lot of time socializing with their neighbors,” he said. “It’s been in decline for 30 years. I would like to think that this is an opportunity to change that.”

The article goes on to mention neighborhood online efforts that cover small condo developments, up to larger suburban neighborhoods of 830 houses. While some of the internet groups seem to focus on business (condo association meeting minutes), the more vibrant ones address the human need to connect with those around you:

Mark Coby, who started a Web site for the Inverness Homeowners Association, said the need for more community contact became clear to him after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. “You could start at home by knowing your neighbors a little bit better,” he said. “Today it’s real easy not to even contact your next-door neighbor if you don’t have some kind of common bond,” he said. “It’s kind of nice to know who lives in your neighborhood.”

Finally, people think there’s more opportunity for this kind of activity:

Buoyed by his success, Allen’s now trying to link all 99 of the city’s neighborhoods and help those who don’t have a Web site build one. “The more we get out the information, the better armed we are,” he said.

Success and Scale for Local Online Services

Posted on Monday, November 20, 2006 by No comments yet

Recently, Peter Krasilovsky noted in The Local Onliner that Backfence.com is finding success with it’s “hyper-local” online newspapers (content supplied by local volunteers). Backfence attracted a $3M investment over the last year and now is operating in 13 communities. Further

Usage-wise, more than 10 percent of local residents in the site’s communities are logging on, and one percent are posting. “We don’t have as many posts as we’d like to have,” but the site has made real inroads in its communities, she says.

It’s a bit apples-to-oranges, but Front Porch Forum had 10% of Burlington, VT households on board within two months of launching… and for a tiny fraction of the investment. Our most successful neighborhoods have 80% of the households registered.

Also, on the issue of scale, The Local Onliner reports about Backfence…

One [lesson learned] is that a hyper-local site had better be scoped along hyper-local lines. “Arlington hasn’t done as well as Bethesda because it is a bigger area,” notes DeFife. “Arlington is actually (four) communities – Clarendon, Ballston, and North and South Arlington. It shows us what (is likely to) happen when we go into counties,” and that it important to keep the hyper-local focus.

If that’s “hyper-local” then I’m not sure how to describe Front Porch Forum’s target scale… micro-local?

Regardless, I’m fascinated to see the variety of approaches. Different strategies will work in different places.

The Local Internet

Posted on Monday, November 20, 2006 by No comments yet

Seems like multiple overlapping versions of the internet are evolving… corporate, commercial, entertainment, social, blogosphere, etc. And now, increasingly, local. Unlike most of the other uses of the internet, I think the local version begs for people to not be anonymous, not rant quite so abusively, and not swing too far into vices… in other words, the local internet calls for people to be neighborly, civil and known.

So, I appreciate Bill Simmon and Cathy Resmer‘s comments about such things.

Looking for Good Links

Posted on Sunday, November 19, 2006 by 3 comments

I just set up the links in the margins here.  It’s interesting to see other online efforts attempting to support community within neighborhoods.  Each has it’s own approach.  Of course, I’m biased and favor the strategy used by Front Porch Forum.  I’d love to participate on a panel with representatives of:

Who else?

Please share links to other services focused on local online community-building.  Also, I’m interested in social capital, social cohesion, civic engagement, etc.  Any good sites to recommend?

Neighborhood Scale

Posted on Thursday, November 16, 2006 by 1 comment

Kevin Harris found an interesting item:

Here’s another take on the scale of neighbourhood, developed for work on children’s play:

‘Doorstep’ – 60m straight line distance from home (100m walking)
‘Neighbourhood’ – 260m straight line distance from home (400m walking)
‘Local’ – 600m straight line distance from home (1km walking)

This comes from a presentation given by Issy Cole-Hamilton of Play England, at a recent Neighbourhoods Green seminar.

This deliniation is similar to what we’ve found in our work with Front Porch Forum:

1. Borrow a cup of sugar distance… homes within site. Maybe 20-30 households.
2. Your neighborhood… several blocks around you. Maybe 200-300 households.
3. Your side of town… an area, more than a neighborhood. Maybe 2,000-3,000 households.

Our service is aimed at the second level. We get folks who want us to make it work at the first or third levels… but that’s not what we’re designed for. Too small, and the forum doesn’t acheive a critical mass of users and the conversations dies out. Too large, and the sense of intimacy doesn’t occur.

Front Porch Forum TV Interview

Posted on Wednesday, November 15, 2006 by No comments yet

Richard Kemp interviewed me about Front Porch Forum on his cable access show, Near and Far, on Channel 17 recently. It will be aired at 6 PM on Nov. 20, 2006. It’s also available online (video or audio podcast). This show is a decent primer on how Front Porch Forum works for anyone interested.

Supporting Neighbors in Need

Posted on Monday, November 13, 2006 by 1 comment

I don’t have the references here in front of me, but I recall studies that found that people who live in areas with a strong sense of community are healthier than those who don’t. I don’t doubt it. Community is a huge compenent of quality of life. Good community can lower stress; bad experiences with the neighbors can increase stress. It’s hard enough to feel daunted by the people at work, or to experience a little road rage… but feeling unsupported or under attack in your home, your supposed safe haven, day in and day out… that’s tough.

We’re seeing more and more beautiful stories of neighbors helping neighbors through our experience operating Front Porch Forum. First-time parents without nearby family? Word goes out and meals, hand-me-down baby clothes, a changing table and stroller show up. A life-long resident in her 80s struggles to stay in her home… neighbors pitch in cutting grass, raking leaves, shoveling snow.

One of the most moving stories was captured by Cathy Resmer at Seven Days:

Arthur Goyette knows the value of good neighbors. His wife Betty died three years ago, but while she was battling cancer, his neighbors brought countless meals to their Caroline Street home. When the neighbors learned that Betty had always wanted to ride in a convertible, they found a dealership willing to loan them a car, and surprised the Goyettes with a Chrysler Sebring. When the couple drove down the street with the top down, people lined the block waving and taking pictures.

Remembering this time, the 71-year-old Goyette marvels that he barely knew some of the people who helped him. He might never have known them at all if it weren’t for an email newsletter called the Front Porch Forum, which serves the South End neighborhood known as the Five Sisters.

Goyette’s neighbors used the newsletter to organize support for the family. “If the web wasn’t there,” he says, “it never would have happened.” (Read the full article.)

One motivator for starting Front Porch Forum was selfish… Valerie and I know that strong community is and will be crucial for our son’s continued well being. Ben is seven and has severe cerebral palsy. We, Ben and the entire family, need broad support from those around us to provide him with the basics of a good life. He has both incredible potential and severe challenges.

Which brings me to today’s movie… truly amazing. Ben and I get out for walks, we love to swim in the lake, and he’s always enjoyed squeezing into our bike trailer behind me… but we’ll never be in this league. Go see the video (or watch it below) and read the story.

YouTube Preview Image

TV Show about Local Online Communities

Posted on Friday, November 10, 2006 by No comments yet

CCTV Channel 17 in Burlington, VT will broadcast a talk show about how to build local face-to-face community using online tools. Front Porch Forum and FreeCycle are featured. The show, Media Literacy Series – Internet Communities, originally aired on Sep 27, 2006 and will be repeated:

Sun, Nov 12, 2006 at 11:52:00 PM
Mon, Nov 13, 2006 at 4:52:00 AM
Mon, Nov 13, 2006 at 10:52:00 AM
Both the video and podcast are also available on Front Porch Forum’s media page.

Halloween at the pinnacle of community in neighborhood

Posted on Thursday, November 9, 2006 by 2 comments

As I wrote on Oct. 31 after the kids were de-costumed and put to bed, Halloween was wonderful in our neighborhood this year… a contender for “best community day of the year”… right up there with the July street-wide yard sale and block party (party was rained out this year).

Kevin Harris caught the idea:

Here’s a curious little piece by Robert Vandervelde in the Globe and Mail raking over changes in the social experience of Hallowe’en.

It’s called ‘The neighbourhood or the mall?’ with the writer reflecting a bit glumly on the decline in the number of kids in his neighbourhood who come to the door to scrounge, sorry, earn candy.

Last year he claims that Hallowe’en “gave me a chance to feel a part of my new neighbourhood. After going months without introducing myself to some of my neighbours, I could instead demonstrate my generous spirit through liberal distribution of candy to their children.”

The turnout was poor. Apparently the kids took the soft option, missing out on the notion of scariness in the dark and getting their pickings at the mall.

I, however, lament that our kids are off the streets. Will they still skirt the dark recesses of their minds by taking candy from a Gap cashier? Will they experience the same community experience when Halloween treats are given to attract consumers instead of out of a sense of neighbourly generosity?

It can’t be the same – the fear and magic you feel when the wind blows through the trees on a dark night can’t be recreated in a mall. The wild excitement of Halloween night seems tamed when you walk down a mall looking for corporate handouts.

Thanks to David Sillito for the link.

Front Porch Forum launches forum for volunteers

Posted on Thursday, November 9, 2006 by No comments yet

Today Front Porch Forum launched an online forum open only to FPF Neighborhood Volunteers in Chittenden County, Vermont, USA. Volunteers can trade tips for recruiting residents to join their neighborhood forums, as well as share fodder for quality local messages. If you live in the Burlington area, sign up for your forum today, then log onto the website and edit your account page to join the 150+ community organizers who are participating. Cheers!