Posted on Monday, January 10, 2011 by
Michael •
#BTV #VT — Many local online efforts focus on making information available to people… that’s a great start. But it’s just a start if your goal is building community and helping people get involved locally.
Burlington City Councilor David Berezniak posted this thoughtful message to his neighbors on Front Porch Forum yesterday…
There are many aspects to living in the ONE [Old North End] that are positive and it is nice to have the ability to share them with each other. Front Porch Forum makes this possible. This is a great service and well deserves our continued support. But please remember, this is not a substitute for meeting, talking with, or getting to know your actual next door neighbors. Ask them if they have joined FPF, let them know you read it and how easy it is to join. Begin to put real faces to some of the postings on here. Start using FPF with a core group of your neighbors as an icebreaker. You may find sharing a genuine feeling of caring about what happens to your neighbors and their stuff also gives them a reason to feel the same way about you.
Posted in: Burlington, Case Foundation, Civic Engagement, Community Building, Democracy, Front Porch Forum, Knight Foundation, Local Online, MacArthur Fellows, Neighborhood, social capital, Social Networking, Stories, Vermont