Yearly Archives: 2007
Small steps toward Neighborliness
Kevin Harris writes this week:
I’m trying to write a paper about neighbourliness and have been thinking about the reciprocity of acts of neighbouring… research has found that… sometimes one neighbour helps out another without getting much in return, and keeps doing so.
However, the researchers only included… “favours” in their study, and it seems to me that other, intangible forms of interpersonal behaviour which are in some way supportive – for instance a sympathetic chat on the doorstep to provide comfort in the face of bad news, or the sharing of information about local services – are likely to be viewed by neighbours as valid contributions to the same exchange relationship.
Many years ago I recall rushing out of my house shouting when I saw from my window a neighbour’s toddler stepping into the road, as the mother was getting the shopping from her car. For this simple act I was rewarded almost immediately with a bottle of wine from the shopping bag. It was clear that I had to accept it, not least because there was probably a confused swelling wave of guilt as well as gratitude in her expression of thanks. But it was also, of course, a recognition of the non-obligatory, but potentially vital, role of neighbour.
This begins to get at what’s unfolding in some of the areas served by Front Porch Forum‘s more successful neighborhood forums. Some how the accumulation of lots of little items are creating an environment more welcoming of overt “good neighbor” acts, like baking a cake for a neighbor in need of boost. That’s an odd move if you’ve only interacted with the person once or twice, but is more reasonable if you’re both subscribed to the same small and lively neighborhood forum.
Front Porch Forum in the News
Many local media outlets in and around Burlington, Vermont have covered Front Porch Forum since our launch last fall. The latest include: The Williston Observer, Hinesburg Record, Colchester Sun, Charlotte Citizen, Islander, Mountain Gazette, and Seven Days. Each of these pieces can be found at or through our media page.
And CCTV Channel 17 is re-airing Richard Kemp’s half-hour Near & Far show about Front Porch Forum this week:
Wed, Feb 7, 2007 at 9:34:00 PM
Thu, Feb 8, 2007 at 2:34:00 AM
Thu, Feb 8, 2007 at 8:34:00 AM
Thu, Feb 8, 2007 at 2:34:00 PM
This show is also available in video or audio-only here. I recommend the 2:34 AM viewing. 😉
How many Neighbors does it take to…
I love the Local Onliner! Here’s another interesting post from today. My answer to Peter Krasilovsky’s refrigerator question below… “Yes, Front Porch Forum.”
Krillion, a startup with deep pockets… launched the first iteration of its “localized search engine” today. The highly attractive, ad-supported service is kicking off with a dedicated appliance search… Krillion is crawling national retailer feeds for appliance availability, store location and sales info. Retailers include Home Depot, Lowe’s, Best Buy, Ikea, Sears (and in the Bay Area, Orchard Supply Hardware). In addition to providing very good product and price information, Krillion provides a click-to-call capability.
Competitors such as ShopLocal, Yokel, Nearby Now and CNET provide similar services. ShopLocal, for one, would seem to have more data sources, since it sucks in all the retailer info from its newspaper partners; Run of Press and circular ads; as well as from a Web partnership with shopping.com.
For now, Krillion says its crawling is far more extensive than any of its competitors, with 275 million pages of relevant local search results displaying local product information for major appliances in every burg in the U.S. “It is an important piece of the local search puzzle,” says [former RHD executive Simon] Greenman. He adds that most local results are like “Swiss cheese.” Greenman also says that the focus on national retailers is smart since the focus stays on big ticket items, and “you get scale issues when you go local.”
But a question I ask is: isn’t there a way to feature both the big box stores and the local merchants? Sure, Krillion turns up an impressive number of GE Profile refrigerators from several big box stores. ShopLocal, meanwhile, only turns up one (from AM Royal). But one of the biggest (and cheapest) stores in my hometown of Carlsbad,CA is actually Pacific Sales. They advertise heavily in local papers. Can’t someone find it?
Front Porch Forum’s answer? Ask your neighbors! Questions like this get asked all the time on our neighborhood forums. “Where’s the best place to buy a new refrigerator?” The writer will hear about the local versions of Pacific Sales, along with comments about service and other issues he might not be considering… “look at the Energy Star ratings” or “check out RecycleNorth for great deals on slightly used models.” Or, even… “ask for the manager, Herb, and tell him I sent you.”
Sure, research online, but then ask the neighbors and SHOP LOCAL! (By the way, that means locally owned retailers.)
Newspapers attract Retailers w/ Online
The Local Onliner reports today:
The decline of their ad share with retailers has newspapers worried to death. But several execs speaking at the NAA marketing conference last week in Las Vegas said they can bring retailers back into the fold with special vertical sites.
Ken Riddick, VP of Interactive Media at The Minneapolis Star Tribune, said that the newspaper has attracted 300 businesses to its ShopMN site, which is a partnership with the Minnesota Retailers Association… Riddick is especially bullish on neighborhood-level search. “It can be very powerful, especially for smaller advertisers,” he says.
Jim Michels, director of new media for The Evansville Courier & Press, says his paper’s vertical approach has similarly had strong dividends. Home improvement is the paper’s first vertical. “We had research showing that people want to put money into their house,” he said. The resulting site, Tri-State Home Show, has sold 125 enhanced listings at up to $29.95 per month. “It is bringing in $55,000 of extra revenue,” he says. He thinks the paper can probably boost sales up to 150.
North End Armory sparks Access Debate
The City of Burlington picked up the Gosse Ct armory cheap from the National Guard in 2005… but what to do with it? Local media has reported some of the discussion about what to do with the dilapidated building.
More ideas and debate have surfaced this week through Front Porch Forum. One member suggested a fitness center. A neighbor responded that we had plenty of opportunities for fitness. In defense of his original idea, Patrick Standen responded to his neighborhood forum:
With all due respect I think I am a pretty good judge as to what is accessible and not having spent 30 years in a wheelchair, served on federal, state and local access boards and functioned as an ADA consultant–that’s the Americans with Disabilities Act. Sadly, our YMCA does not provide “A fine fitness center… for all abilities” because it is completely wheelchair inaccessible. Having worked closely with the Y, accessibility is one of their top concerns, but their current building cannot accommodate visitors w/mobility impairments–it is an embarrassment to the Y. The only solution will be a new building.
As to the beaches and sidewalks, have you ever tried to access the lake from a wheelchair? Burlington lacks any wheelchair-friendly accommodation to the lake and the well-lit sidewalks may be lit but not very wheelchair friendly during the winter months.
I don’t mean to sermonize, but it is just this insensitive lack of awareness that keeps Vermonters with disabilities as second-class citizens without the same rights and opportunities as the larger population. While Burlington prides itself on being “progressive” and “liberal” it is in the dark ages concerning accessibility and disability rights.
Let’s keep the dialogue going…
As a father of a 1st grader who depends on his wheelchair to get around this city, I can only add… Amen Patrick.
Long-Lost Brothers Reunite thru Forum!
Well… a few days ago it was a lost cat in Hinesburg finding it’s owner through Front Porch Forum. This week it’s a heartwarming dogs’ tale, in the form of two letters from the canines themselves to each other through the Five Sisters Neighborhood Forum.
I saw you, you saw me, and we sniffed each other last weekend while our owners were cross-country skiing on the golf course. We didn’t have much time to play, but there was something strangely familiar about you. Did you notice that, too?
Your owner said your name was Cadbury and that you were born in Fletcher on February 3rd and going to be 4. My owner said I also was born in Fletcher on February 3rd but going to be 5. My owner later realized she was wrong and we figured out that we’re actually brothers.
Please have your owner contact mine so we can have a sniffy, tearful reunion.
Sincerely, Tucker B. Cockapoo (B stands for Black)
Dearest Tucker!!!!
Yes, indeed, it is I. Cadbury S Pickle. It was as we sniff-detected — but our humans too befuddled to realize — we are indeed twins, or perhaps some from amongst quintuplets, one of us (you) stolen by aliens shortly after birth!
I will make it up to you bigtime, I promise. Senior by reason of birth order and disposition, I will be the big brother you never knew you wanted!
If you phone, I will listen to your barky little voice on the answer machine and howl my regards.
If your human contacts mine no doubt we can look forward to a play date, or several. I have many wonderful children-friends here who would be pleased to make your acquaintance. And two (non-related probably) Cockapoos in my neighborhood, a black cutie pie named Puck (whom I insist on peeing on, for which my mom is too embarrassed to let me play with Pucky again) and a winsome apricot named Putney.
All this time and only a block or two away! You seem to have landed on your feet, materially speaking, with that winsome sweater-jacket even though the sun was shining, and four smashing orange booties! For myself, well, my keeper is nice enough, but has Literary Pretensions. So my household is eclectic, some would say Bohemian, but the neighbors watch out for me and what I lack in couture I make up for with an abundance of good bones.
Happy birthday sweet and long-lost brother.
Cadbury S Pickle (S stands for Schmutzy, Yiddish for dirty; as I said, my Keeper presents as literate, sigh, don’t ask).
Man vs. Machine
Much of the internet’s most amazing tools are fully automated. Take Google… search, maps, etc. There’s no reference librarian or navigator on the other end of your search request madly leafing through libraries worth of material to find your answer. No… it’s all clever programming, huge data sets, servers galore and bandwidth. All praise automation.
But some tasks are better suited for real people. That list seems to be shrinking, but it’s still long and full of important stuff. E.g., “Should I propose to my girlfriend this weekend?” Best not trusted to an algorithm, but a Dear Abby type website might offer a personal response… something like Yahoo Answers.
Front Porch Forum incorporates a moderator in each of its neighborhood forums. This real person plays a light role, but he’s in there nonetheless. So while the neighbors supply the content and the software does the heavy lifting, its the moderator who makes subtle adjustments to help with tone, momentum, clarity, growth, etc. The moderator’s driving goal is to help neighbors connect and foster community within neighborhoods. That’s a complex thing involving many variables, most challenging… human perception, emotion, and behavior. Best not left tended by just computers.
In a related item, The Local Onliner reported today that Jay Small (E.W. Scripps Newspapers’ director of online audience and operations) stated at the NAA Marketing Conference (Jan. 29-31 in Las Vegas) that…
Newspapers can’t expect to beat Yellow Pages or Google in broad local advertiser categories, but they can focus on niche areas and invest in human editors and SEO to bring out their real strengths in the local marketplace.
Small feels that a critical key to newspaper success with local advertisers is their use of human editors, who can see connections with local guides, advertisers and newspaper content that Google and others may not. (In this regard, Scripps is very much on the same track as Boston.com).
About Blog
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
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