Ghost of Midnight

… about neighbors, community and Front Porch Forum

Off-Forum Responses Add Up

Posted on Thursday, August 16, 2007 by No comments yet

Front Porch Forum has yet to examine in detail the “multiplier effect” of a single posting on one of its neighborhood forums. That is, it’s plain to see that many postings result in following up messages on the forum. But it seems a majority get results that happen off-forum via email, phone calls, or even – gasp – on someone’s actual front porch.

Here’s one example from Pam on the Huntington Neighborhood Forum today…

Hi all – thanks to everyone who gave me seamstress ideas!

I am going to have Lisa B. help me but wanted to list the recommendations I received if anyone else is looking:
Lisa B. 434-xxxx
Eliza W. 434-xxxx
Lynn F. – Richmond
Linda in Burlington across from BOVE’s

I appreciate all the personal emails I received with ideas. Remember though, if you respond via the Forum, everyone benefits from your ideas. If you suddenly need a seamstress in the future, log onto http://frontporchforum.com and search the archives.

So she appears to have gotten at least four responses off-forum and one on-forum. I know our family has gotten many off-forum responses for various postings… up to a dozen or more. All from nearby neighbors.

P.S. And I agree with Pam that FPF members should, if it makes sense in the moment, post their response to the whole neighborhood forum. Not only is the information then immediately available and stored away in the searchable archive, but it also contributes to the forward momentum of the conversation… members SEE that it works and use the forum more when they see lots of results.

Thanks Pam!

Posted in: Community Building, Front Porch Forum, Local Online, Neighborhood, Peer Reviews, Social Media, Stories, Vermont


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