Monthly Archives: May 2007

Keeping Tabs on Neighborhood from Afar

Posted on Tuesday, May 15, 2007 by No comments yet

Peggy wrote today as her one-year abroad is wrapping up…

I must tell you that reading all the FPF postings has been a nice way for me to stay connected with our neighborhood! Just another great reason to be a part of the forum!!

Pew’s Latest Report and FPF

Posted on Thursday, May 10, 2007 by No comments yet

The Pew Internet and American Life Project really cranks out the research. The latest one, A Typology of Information and Communication Technology Users, is, despite the catchy title, a great read full of valuable insights. For example, based on their survey of 4,000 American adults, we break down as such…

  • Elite Tech Users – 31%
  • Middle-of-the-Road Tech Users – 20%
  • Few Tech Assets – 49%

The elite users of information and communications technology (ICT) consist of four groups that have the most information technology, are heavy and frequent users of the internet and cell phones and, to varying degrees, are engaged with user-generated content. Members of these groups have generally high levels of satisfaction about the role of ICTs in their lives, but the groups differ on whether the extra availability is a good thing or not.

The middle-of-the-road users consist of two groups whose outlook toward information technology is task-oriented. They use ICTs for communication more than they use it for self-expression. One group finds this pattern of information technology use satisfying and beneficial, while the other finds it burdensome.

For those with few technology assets (four groups), modern gadgetry is at or near the periphery of their daily lives. Some find it useful, others don’t, and others simply stick to the plain old telephone and television.

Front Porch Forum members, I estimate, are scattered across all of these categories… not just the tech elites. In April 2006 (when the survey was completed), 73% of Americans labeled themselves as internet users (same as cell phones).

Pew reports that 18% of respondents “post comments to an online news group or website,” while 8% have a blog. Looking at the last six months in our flagship Five Sisters Neighborhood Forum, 90% of the neighborhood subscribes and a full 50% of that group posted to their neighborhood forum in the past six months.

Neighborhood Mail Lists Thriving

Posted on Wednesday, May 9, 2007 by No comments yet

Steve Hendrix wrote in The Washington Post today about the widespread use of neighborhood email lists in and around Washington, DC. Read here for lots of interesting examples. (Thanks to E-Democracy.org for the tip.) Also noted…

According to the Pew Center‘s Internet and American Life Project, 55 percent of Internet users subscribed to e-mail group lists in 2006 as a way of maintaining ties with the community or hobby groups they belonged to, up from 32 percent in 2001.

Yahoo, which provides free hosting services in exchange for implanting small ads at the bottom of each message, says it handles more than 8 million groups with more than 100 million members.

So there’s a huge demand for neighborhood email lists and a huge number of people are not yet served. Further, the leading provider in the sector now, Yahoo Groups, is decidedly user-unfriendly and not accessible to lots of people with low computer skills (based on personal experience trying to guide many folks onto and around various Yahoo Groups that I’ve been involved with).

This adds up to great potential for Front Porch Forum.

Yahoo! We’re going to Google NYC Party

Posted on Tuesday, May 8, 2007 by 1 comment

Just got an invitation to a gathering at Google NYC! It’s the speakers’ cocktail party for the Personal Democracy Forum. Photo ID required to get into the party… guess we’re not in Vermont anymore. 😉

Front Porch Forum is on the agenda, alongside some A-List political bloggers (Huffington Post, TPM), successful dot.com entrepreneurs (craigslist, Wikipedia), Presidential campaign online directors (Edwards, McCain, Joe Trippi), best-selling authors (Thomas Friedman), etc. Very exciting. The conference is May 18 at Pace University. I’ll write about the experience here.

Online Community and Access

Posted on Monday, May 7, 2007 by No comments yet

Some of our more internet-savvy Front Porch Forum subscribers get frustrated with the lack of features in our current offering. Some requests we get from this group are solid and sensible, while others stray into the bells and whistles category. Ultimately, satisfaction comes to these high-end folks when they adjust their expectations.

Front Porch Forum is a walk down a tree-lined village street vs. some other Web 2.0 sites that are more akin to navigating L.A.’s freeways during rush hour.

One of our long-running goals with this service has been to keep it so simple that anyone who uses the internet can participate… regardless of skill, operating system, connection speed, etc.

I was a little surprised today when Deb, a subscriber who has made great use of her neighborhood’s forum (found a lost dog, met people, raised a crowd of volunteers for a clean-up event, etc.) confessed today that she considers herself very much NOT a computer person. In fact, she has yet to successfully log into the member-only section of our site.

Wow! That’s exactly what we set out to do… reach people who care about their neighborhood, regardless of computer skill. Deb can send and receive email… so she can participate in her neighborhood forum… and she does just that in a big way. When I told her of our goal of wide access, regardless of computer know-how, she answered… “You are succeeding FAMOUSLY with that goal!!” Thanks Deb!

Turn out a crowd of volunteers!

Posted on Monday, May 7, 2007 by 1 comment

Front Porch Forum continues to be a great way to turn out a crowd for volunteer activities and events.  Deb just wrote in that her neighborhood had a record-breaking group show up for Vermont’s annual Green Up Day

I continue to be amazed with the effectiveness of the Forum and give it full credit for the historically large turn-out for our recent Green Up Day activities in ONE East.

Front Porch Forum rather than eBay

Posted on Monday, May 7, 2007 by No comments yet

I wrote a day or two ago about how many of our subscribers prefer using Front Porch Forum rather than other online services for many things. Here’s another example from Pete in Burlington’s Old North End (ONE)…

Hi neighbors – I’d like to sell my pickup truck — it’s way more vehicle than I need. It’s a white 1997 Dodge Ram… The Blue Book value is $6,115, but I’m happy to entertain any and all offers. Feel free to test drive it, too. I’d much rather see it go to an ONE neighbor than deal with the eBay world.

Online Forum Yields Face-to-Face Community

Posted on Monday, May 7, 2007 by 1 comment

From a not-quite-yet-mature neighborhood forum in South Burlington… C.L. is welcoming long-time neighbors who just subscribed…

Welcome Nancy and Dick! It is kind of sad that this is how we have to communicate! Hope you are doing well and we do need to catch up! XOXO C.L.

As counterintuitive as it seems, people report that their online forums lead to MORE face-to-face time with neighbors. In fact, this is the most valued aspect of Front Porch Forum by members in neighborhoods with active and “full-grown” forums.

When enough folks join a given neighborhood forum and start using it, people seem to start organizing more block parties, street-wide yard sales, Green Up Day efforts, community action to get a new stop sign or potholes filled, etc. Lots of small things too… dog and toddler play groups, school and work carpools, support groups to lend a hand to an elder neighbor with yard chores, a regular poker game, etc.

A generation or two ago, it seems, most homes had a stay-at-home mom who was in the neighborhood all day and family size was larger and the little ones were home all day… lots of bodies in the neighborhood all day. Now, many neighborhoods are ghost towns during the weekday. The face-to-face neighborhood grapevine that thrived over back fence, around the kitchen table over coffee, and, dare I say, on the front porch, has withered in many places. Enter the virtual Front Porch Forum. Not to replace face-to-face… but to help folks rebuild the neighborhood grapevine and connect in person more.

It’s working in many places! A neighborhood forum seems to require 50-100 members to really get rolling. The one above has about 20 members (out of about 300 households) and three local officials who tune in. A simple door-to-door flyering and/or sign-up sheet on a clipboard will push those numbers up toward the critical mass needed.

Every Neighborhood deserves a Maypole

Posted on Sunday, May 6, 2007 by 1 comment

I love a good neighborhood party. Liz, Bill and Willy hosted a great one last weekend… May Day! We even had a genuine maypole going. Some neighborhood musicians kept the music flowing. Garlands were woven and worn. Little ones underfoot. And a perfect spring day. Thanks neighbors!

Photo:  Wolfgang Hokenmaier

Neighborhood Forum Boosters Make it Happen

Posted on Sunday, May 6, 2007 by No comments yet

Here’s a great post from the Birch Neighborhood Forum today from Alan S.  It’s folks like Alan that cause Front Porch Forum to catch on and become a valuable service to one neighborhood after another.

I give my hearty welcome to the McGarghans and the Heveys.  I am pleased that you have joined the forum and encourage you to tell others in your personal networks to join their own neighborhood forums.  I think this vehicle for local communication is the best thing since sliced cheese. 🙂 I also am happy that my time spent distributing leaflets about the forum in our neighborhood is paying off.  Please consider doing something similar to spread the word.  Have a great day.