Category Archives: Case Foundation
Best bang for Vermont business advertising buck?
Mary Meeker’s annual state-of-the-Internet presentation summed up neatly the difference between where people spend their time and attention versus where businesses spend their advertising budgets. See the chart below based on research from Kleiner Perkins.
Front Porch Forum advertisers are a happy lot who tend to be pleasantly surprised by the results they get via FPF’s internet and mobile advertising compared to their older strategies. Learn more about FPF advertising here.
#THISisJournalism highlights Front Porch Forum
Andrew DeVigal & Mike Fancher report today…
It was a presentation months in the making.
Titled “T
HIS is Journalism,” the presentation carried enormous expectations as the ending plenary to our conference that asked that very question: What is Journalism? Luckily, we had help from many whose tweets illuminated emerging forms of journalism in unexpected places.
Earlier this year, the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication‘s (SOJC) Agora Journalism Center launched the #THISisJournalism social media campaign and website. #THISisJournalism is a collection of transformative projects that challenges our definition of journalism while also serving the functions of journalism to enhance public knowledge and enrich civic life…
They go on to share summaries of a many new online services that contribute to journalism today, including Front Porch Forum.
100,000 Front Porch Forum members in Vermont!
We’re excited to announce that Front Porch Forum now has 100,000 members across Vermont. More than one-third of the households in the state participate in their local FPFs. Thanks to all who have helped achieve this milestone.
To share FPF with other Vermonters, please send them to FrontPorchForum.com to check it out and sign up.
FPF’s mission is to help neighbors connect and build community. We do that by hosting a statewide network of online neighborhood forums where Vermonters post about lost pets, borrowing ladders, recommending plumbers, sighting moose, reporting break-ins, discussing school budgets, and much more.
Reckless drivers endangering lives… Vermont discussions heating up
The following Front Porch Forum posting sparked a lively local discussion about texting while driving…
“The past few days while entering and leaving Cambridge Elementary School I have witnessed several drivers texting while leaving the school. We all know it is against the law, but more importantly, there are children who are walking and biking to school and “you” are putting their lives at risk. The text you are responding to is not more important than their lives. Pick up and drop off times at CES is a very busy time and drivers need (and have the duty) to be alert. School officials can only do so much, we are all responsible for the safety of every CES child!”
• Sean, Cambridge FPF
Another Vermonter in Plainfield took a more direct tack…
“Speeding on Laird Pond Rd- Please Stop or I Will Throw Rocks at You… A red truck with a cap came barreling down Laird Pond Rd this afternoon right around bus drop off time 3:30 and sped by my son and honked loudly. He was off to the side, he was not in the way. He is a student walking home from school. Lots of children walk this road every day. Speeding on this road at this time, or any time is unacceptable. I’m serious about the rocks.”
• Erin, Marshfield Plainfield FPF
Given recent tragedies on Vermont roads, these conversations are as important as ever. Local FPFs are a good place to raise these concerns and gauge neighbors’ feelings as well.
Angel delivers cleats and glove to Little League rookie
“Wow! I came home from work today to find brand new cleats and glove on my front porch. My son is all set for Little League. What an unbelievably generous and thoughtful gift from a complete stranger. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Barbara, you are an angel :)”
• Gretchen, Mad River Valley FPF
People ask why we work so hard to host Front Porch Forum across every community in Vermont. That’s easy to answer! It’s the constant flow of neighbor success stories — large and small — that stream through FPF every day. Here are a few more examples from the past week:
“I posted a need for firewood to get through to spring, should it ever arrive. I ran out and was in a fix with dry wood almost impossible to find. So thank you to the Front Porch Forum neighbor who came through for me. It warms the heart when someone you never met goes out of their way to be generous with their abundance. Thanks also to FPF that made this possible.”
• David, Jericho FPF
“Overwhelming response to the free paint…gone within minutes of posting! Front Porch Forum, great way to make room for spring.”
• Susan, Montpelier FPF
“FPF really worked! I received 8 recommendations for a good massage therapist. Thank you all for your help.”
• Stephanie, Burlington FPF
“Wow! Can’t thank the Barre/Berlin communities enough for their veterinarian recommendations yesterday. FPF gratitude to all.”
• Amy, Barre City FPF
“Shortly after yesterday’s FPF edition was posted, I received a helpful phone call from a new friend and was able to solve my computer problem! Gotta love the FPF concept; and to think I heard an interview with the founder on NPR earlier in the day, just magic! I will be supporting them again and hope you all do the same.”
• Ralph, Vergennes FPF
“Thank you for all the great responses and suggestions for donating egg cartons. Mine will be making their way to VYCC. FPF rocks!”
• Joanna, Richmond FPF
“Wow, FPF members are truly great! I shouldn’t have been surprised when I woke up the morning after my request for landscape designers to several recommendations!! Thanks so much… Looking forward to our spring project!”
• Nancy, Montpelier FPF
“Sharky the Cat had been missing since September- amazing reunion! Front Porch Forum made one family elated beyond description… thank you everyone for your interest.”
• Trish, Mad River Valley FPF
Front Porch Forum’s story aired across Canada
Spark, with Nora Young, covered Front Porch Forum over the weekend on CBCRadio across all of Canada and some of the United States.
Vermont’s FPF featured on NPR’s All Things Considered
Wonderful to hear Front Porch Forum stories playing to a national audience on NPR’s All Things Considered.
And thanks to Vermont’s own Angela Evancie for nailing the facts while conveying the neighbor-helping-neighbor spirit of FPF.
Front Porch Forum co-founders Michael and Valerie Wood-Lewis run the company from their home office in Burlington, Vt. Credit: Angela Evancie/Vermont Public Radio
Daily Yonder’s take on FPF
By Dale Mackey, published in The Daily Yonder on Feb. 25, 2015…
A Vermont-based social media platform helps residents communicate with neighbors. In the process, participants feel more connected to each other and their communities, says the project’s founder… [click to read full article]
A block party for the Five Sisters neighborhood in Burlington, Vermont, which was Front Porch Forum’s launch neighborhood. Photo: Carolyn Bates
When are neighbors better than family?
(Photo: Joshua Brown)
“A study by University of Vermont (UVM) sociologist Thomas Macias found that people who socialize with their neighbors would switch to more planet-saving measures than people who kept to themselves or associated mainly with family and friends,” according to TakePart.com. “Macias lives in an area where people take the time to get to know their neighbors and stay connected via online communities like FrontPorchForum.com.”
UVM reports “The study, published by Environment and Behavior journal, finds that people who socialize with neighbors are more likely to ‘keep up with the Jones’ on green behaviors, including water and energy conservation, buying organic fruits and vegetables and driving less. ‘These findings suggest that our neighbors play a unique and crucial role in getting people to act on climate change,’ says Macias. ‘Green outcomes were surprisingly higher for neighbors than family relatives or close friends.’
“Thanks for being a digital Town Meeting prep station”
It’s Town Meeting season. We get plenty of questions about how to use Front Porch Forum to address local issues this time of year, so we thought we’d share the following.
Postings about local Town Meeting topics, elections and ballot measures are welcome on each FPF. We ask that people who submit postings keep their tone civil one person’s witty remark is another’s cutting insult. Also, please focus on the topic rather than on specific neighbors. If you think someone is abusing this opportunity for open community dialogue, feel free to contact us with details.
Every single town in Vermont now has Front Porch Forum, and many of them become more lively this time of year as neighbors ask questions and share facts and opinions leading up to Town Meeting Day. We’re grateful to be able to make this contribution to Vermont’s centuries-long tradition of local and democratic decision making. We’ve heard repeatedly that people feel more informed and better able to participate and vote on Town Meeting Day thanks to their neighbors’ postings on their local FPFs. Please feel welcome to join in.
Of course the best way to participate is by showing up at Town Meeting and/or the ballot box!
P.S. From Susan in Montpelier today… “Thanks for being a digital Town Meeting prep station (ugh)… but you know what I mean, right?”
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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