Ghost of Midnight

… about neighbors, community and Front Porch Forum

On 99-cent iFarts and progress

Posted on Friday, March 13, 2009 by No comments yet

From MeetUp.com‘s Scott Heiferman’s blog

@JoeTrippi: “I live in a world in which BILLIONS of people live on less than $2 a day yet many of us will pay 99 cents for an IPhone app that makes our phone fart. But I don’t write this out of guilt or to guilt you. Its just a fact that I find really strange… I am not much of an idealist any more — at least not in the way I considered myself an idealist before I found my way to Africa last year — but I still believe in the power of people conducting simple acts together for the purpose of achieving what is right.”

That’s my approach to Front Porch Forum.  It’s not single-handedly finding a cure for AIDS or reversing global climate change… but it is connecting neighbors and leading to increased civic engagement.  And there’s something profound about helping humanize the guy next door, while directing people’s attention to local issues, conversations and actions.

Posted in: Community Building, Democracy, Front Porch Forum, Local Online, MacArthur Fellows, Neighborhood, social capital, Social Media


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