Category Archives: Burlington
LifeEdited takes a look at FPF
#BTV #FPF – Here’s some of LifeEdited’s look at Front Porch Forum from yesterday…
According to the US Census Bureau, the average American moves 11.7 times in his or her lifetime. As the average life expectancy of that same citizen is 78.2 years, most Americans will move every 6.68 years.
It is perhaps this peripatetic lifestyle and an ever-accelerating pace of life that leads many of us to live those 7 or so years without getting to know our neighbors. We don’t know their names and we don’t rely on them”“i.e. the original collaborative consumption.
A website called Front Porch Forum is making getting to know your neighbors just a little easier. The site is like the front porch or town square where people voice their needs, opinions, services”“pretty much anything. Your particular forum is determined by your street address and unlike a community site like Craigslist, it is not anonymous. There are real names of real people who live really near you. Unlike Yahoo or Google Groups, you don’t need any special interests”“just an address.
One of the site’s FAQ’s is “Has it really come to this? Using computers to talk to people next door?” The answer, they believe, is yes. Here’s what they claim:
“In one rural town, we found that half the community had subscribed to FPF after one year and, remarkably, 66 percent had posted.In another study in Burlington, Vt., where half of the city subscribes to FPF, 90 percent reported that their local civic engagement had increased due to this online service.”
Their site includes a sample of posts”“things like “Found watch ““ yours?” and “Audubon summer day camp scholarships available.” The kind of casual stuff you’d chat with a neighbor about. Though we cannot attest to it personally, we imagine this online interaction would serve as a catalyst for face-to-face communication…
About LifeEdited…
LifeEdited shows how to design your life to include more money, health and happiness with less stuff, space and energy. It’s life. Edited.
Since 1950, the average American consumes 6 times more energy and carries 24 times more personal debt. He uses 3 times more living space, but still doesn’t have enough room to store his stuff, a fact made clear by a $22B personal storage industry. Despite this excess (or perhaps because of it), we find ourselves no happier than we were 60 years ago. Most of us realize it’s relationships and experiences”“not possessions”“that make us happy. Why don’t we design our homes, products and lifestyles accordingly?
LifeEdited is answering those questions directly. It started in 2009 when Graham Hill, founder of Treehugger.com, launched a competition to design his compact New York City apartment, making it into a living embodiment of the “˜edited’ lifestyle. Following Hill’s popular TED talk about the apartment, he realized he wasn’t the only one craving a better, simpler life.
40,000 Vermonters can’t be wrong
#BTV #VT – Front Porch Forum now has 40,000 members out of its 110,000-household area in Vermont.
How Can FPF be Used in Coming Elections?
#BTV #VT – In response to recent questions about Front Porch Forum and the fall elections…
Yes, you are welcome to post your comments about the various races. Please keep them brief and civil! Front Porch Forum has a rich history of neighbor discussion about candidates and ballot measures.
For anyone running for office or involved in a campaign, we have a new option this year: the FPF Paid Campaign Posting. You can place your message alongside postings from neighbors in any group of FPFs in Vermont. You pick the neighborhoods/towns and the dates. Slots are limited — and once they’re gone, they’re gone. Contact info and details: http://bit.ly/FPF_PCP
Nearly 40,000 Vermonters subscribe to FPF now out of the 40% of the state that we cover.
For the fine print on FPF election use, see no. 19 of the FPF Terms of Use: http://frontporchforum.com/terms-of-use
The Aug. 28 primary is right around the corner!
Neighbors help recover stolen canoe
#BTV #VT – I just wanted to thank my neighbors on Ward Street for their help in recovering our stolen canoe. Within an hour of my original Front Porch Forum post, I received several emails from folks in the neighborhood with information that helped us recover the canoe and will hopefully help us find the perpetrator. Thanks again.
That was just posted from John in Burlington’s ONE West FPF. His canoe was stolen right off the roof of his truck yesterday. Happy ending.
Burlington Ruby Conference July 28-29
#BTV #VT – Vermont’s emerging web application development community will gather at Main Street Landing in Burlington to hear from top developers across North America, including engineers from Twitter and several leading dev. shops. All are welcome. Register today: http://bit.ly/BURUCO
Front Porch Forum, Main Street Landing, Engine Yard, Intridea, and Agilion Apps are sponsors.
Chickens on handlebars and other neighborly acts
#BTV #VT – From Peter in upstate New York…
Recently, I posted on Front Porch Forum for somebody who could do roof repairs, and for some outside work…
Bob W. recommended Phil M., a local man right here in Argyle. Phil quickly found the problem and will be returning to fix the leakage for a very reasonable price.
I also just received a call from a young man from Argyle who will do the outside work that I was looking for.
It’s great to find people right here in our own town. I’d rather spend my money on local people than on people from out of town.
Now I’m looking for topsoil. Please don’t hesitate to email or call!
And from Nick in Burlington’s Old North End…
I really love a city where you can see kids riding around with a chicken on their handlebars and find exactly what you were looking for in a box by the curb. Keep up the good work.
Bears Abound
#BTV #VT – Bear sightings are one of the most popular topics on Front Porch Forum recently, with 500 postings submitted across dozens of Vermont towns. Here are a few samples…
From Dick in Middlesex…
While walking our Vizsla tonight in our woods (right off the intersection of Wood and Shady Rill), Penny raced after something down in the woods. I saw a raccoon-sized animal run for a tree and the dog was barking like crazy so I started down through the pines to check her. There was a lot of tree-scrambling noise and as I yelled, I saw Mama Bear sort of looking at me and realized that several cubs must have been treed. Fortunately, Penny must have also seen the bear because she came right back and went right up the path to the house.
I hope my electric fences protect the beehives — there’s not much out there for her and the kids to eat.
From Christine in Bristol…
I just wanted to let everyone know that the black bear is still on Hardscrabble Road in Bristol. It was seen in the back yard of a home located just a few houses up from the Red Cedar School at about 5am today. It was was walking the perimeter of the yard eating blackberries from the branches. Estimated weight was about 225lbs.
From Ken in Essex Junction Village…
To all my neighbors – Woke up on Thursday to find my bird feeder poles bent over and the feeders on the ground. I thought it was merry pranksters, my wife said it must be a bear, so I straightened out the STEEL pipes and refilled the feeders and went about the day. We did activate the motion sensor lights though. Last night the lights went on and we looked out the window and stayed in the house, unlike our Governor. It is indeed a bear, and a big one, at least 250 pounds.
Posted by the police in Essex Town…
Here is an updated list to those locations we have been told bears have been sighted or known to be around:
- Gentes Road
- Pinewood Development
- Countryside Development
- Sherwood Square on Densmore Road
- Essex Highlands Off Weed Road
- Woods End Drive
- East Street
- Park Avenue
- Lamoille Street
And, from Scott in Westford…
Well, it was only the one bear but here’s what happened. I learned something about bears because of this experience.
From time to time our family will have a little campfire. I’m sure you guys know what I’m talking about: S’mores, maybe some adult beverages, a few friends. Pretty low-key stuff. Well, this one night a little earlier this Spring (when it hadn’t rained for a bit) we were having a fire and generally enjoying ourselves by the fire pit. Maybe it was the smell of the roasting marshmallows that drew the bear towards us, I don’t know. Anyway, I had just put a log on the fire when a spark jumped out and started a little tuft of grass on fire. I stumbled around a bit and I thought I had the loose fire under control. That’s when it happened: This big old bear comes crashing out of the woods and just starts stomping around the fire. He put it right out! We were in shock, to say the least. Then he grabs a shovel and commences to dousing our fire while, I swear this is true, grumbling about idiots lighting fires during the dry season and didn’t we see the warnings about fires and how he lives here too. Then, he grabbed the remaining beers (and the last s’more!) and said “Remember: Only YOU can prevent forest fires” before stomping angrily off to the woods. We were stunned.
I just want to say, while I appreciate bears sharing the land with us, I think Smokey is kind of a jerk for taking the rest of our beer and ruining our get-together. Bears should just stay in the woods.
Do tech start-ups belong in Vermont?
#BTV #VT – Sometimes we get this question from out-of-state folks who think all tech start-ups should be born in Silicon Valley. Well, Burlington and Vermont have been great to Front Porch Forum.
And we’re not alone. CNN today reported that the Kauffman Index ranks Vermont the 8th most entrepreneurial state, and the top state east of the Mississippi River. And Richard Florida’s latest research puts Burlington 11th on a new Technology Index of U.S. metro areas.
I’ll take it one step finer… from state, to city, to neighborhood. Our Five Sisters neighborhood in Burlington’s South End boasts several tech start-ups, including
Thanks to Fresh Tracks Capital and Vermont Business Magazine for some of this information.
KillerStartups covers Vermont’s own FPF
#BTV #VT – Burlington-writer-made-good, Emma McGowan, covered Front Porch Forum for KillerStartups this week.
Ask neighbors for farmers’ market finds
#BTV #VT – Folks in Vermont use Front Porch Forum is lots of ways. Here’s one from today’s FPF in Burlington’s Old North End by a local newspaper reporter…
Dear neighbors: I’ll be sampling breakfast, lunch and snacks at the Burlington Farmers Market this Saturday… Would love recommendations from ONE East about which temptations I shouldn’t miss, which prices are most reasonable. Any and all suggestions welcome.
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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