Cathy Resmer writes about a couple failed local citizen journalism sites today, the Winooski Eagle and…
iBurlington — “Burlington Vermont’s Blog” — a local citizen journalism site, launched in 2005.
Creator Brian Brown had high hopes for the project, which he modeled after the successful CJ community iBrattleboro. In March of 2005, Brown told Seven Days he expected to sign up more contributors and get more traffic than iBrat, if only because Burlington’s a bigger city.
But it didn’t happen that way.
She adds…
Front Porch Forum founder Michael Wood-Lewis was also at the [local bloggers] BBQ. FPF is a neighborhood email newsletter, not really a web-based tool, but it’s definitely succeeding in some respects where iBurlington failed. That just occurred to me as I was writing this post, and it’s definitely something to think about.
Thanks Cathy. I agree. Front Porch Forum seems to defy pigeon-holing… it’s not a blog, not a wiki, not a mail list… what is it?!?! I guess we should come up with some technical term for FPF… but it’s really just something new and different… and successful. While email is our primary distribution method currently, that’s not really what FPF is about… just a vehicle we’re using now.
In a way, FPF is hosting 130 group-written blogs, each focused on a neighborhood and written by a host of contributors/neighbors. Our most active neighborhood forums have 90% of the households on board.
Blogs are small, independent, decentralized, self-appointed, low-capital, etc, compared to traditional media. Well, FPF takes it another step, giving the masses an online platform to share their thoughts and needs with their neighbors through its neighborhood forums. So while starting a blog is much easier to do than starting a newspaper, it’s still not doable for many, if not most, of the population. On the other hand, anyone who can handle email can participate in Front Porch Forum and add their voice to the online conversation.
Well… this is nifty. Walk Score is a new mashup…
Walk Score helps people find walkable places to live. Walk Score calculates the walkability of an address by locating nearby stores, restaurants, schools, parks, etc.
I take issue with my neighborhood’s meager 55 score, since our family walks and bikes for many of the necessities without much difficulty. Plus some of the underlying data doesn’t jibe with a local’s understanding of things (e.g., calling a gas station/convenience store on the adjacent feeder road our nearest “grocery store”… I don’t know any neighbors who consider that a grocery store). But it’s a cool idea and fun to play with, and I shouldn’t quibble. I wonder about the source of the data.
The Local Onliner reports today about…
Jitter Fingers, a social network for teen and “tween” girls looking for a secure and focused environment (i.e. away from the predators that lurk in MySpace), has launched a local beta version in Los Angeles. It expects to eventually launch up to 300 localized versions.
Founder Allen Esrock, a longtime tech headhunter – and the father of two girls in the targeted demo — notes that girls “place their friendships above anything else. Within their private (and verified) ‘Jitter Friends’ club, girlfriends can chat, share secrets, horoscopes and photos….leave messages for each other.“
Local is a huge part of Jitter Fingers’ equation. [And] “Our ability to push hot national content such as celebrities, movies, and fashion into the girls’ locally created marketplaces creates a female national/local advertising platform,” says Esrock.
Esrock adds that the website is “the first plank” in a cross platform product that will leverage multiple revenue streams from marketers who eager to reach targeted, local girls.
Well, I’m all for creating safe places for kids (of whatever gender) to socialize online (or maybe not, come to think of it). But it seems that this site wants to block one type of predator so that they can sell access to another type of predator… “marketers who [are] eager to reach targeted, local girls.” Call me old fashioned, but my daughter will not be using this service.
Ghost of Midnight is an online journal about fostering community within neighborhoods, with a special focus on Front Porch Forum (FPF). My wife, Valerie, and I founded FPF in 2006... read more