“May I post a political item on my Front Porch Forum?”
We get that question all the time here at FPF… especially leading up to Town Meeting Day and November elections.
The answer, of course, is “YES!” Some of our members are disappointed to hear that. They express a desire to keep FPF conversation “polite,” which therefore excludes mention of politics and religion… or anything that might bring feelings of discomfort.
I appreciate that point of view. That’s the kind of thinking I grew up with. But FPF operates under a different principle… the idea that more conversation and information sharing among neighbors will lead to more people getting involved in local issues, and result in better decisions being made much of the time.
This process can be messy. People need to behave and have thick skins. Local powerbrokers may need to loosen the reins a bit and develop strategies for engaging hundreds or thousands of constituents (that’s one place FPF can be of service).
In South Burlington, VT, for example, one City Councilor is speaking up about the U.S. Air Force’s plan to replace local F-16 fighter jets with new F-35s. Her postings have reached directly into 2,000 South Burlington homes (out of 7,000 total) and have circulated widely beyond. She’s forwarded many links to websites to facilitate voters in doing their research.
After dozens of postings from neighbors across several weeks (with various opinions and sharing more research), the Burlington Free Press picked up the story today, with staff writer Joel Banner Baird delving into the concerns and gathering quotes from various residents and local officials.
While I’ve heard that some civic leaders in South Burlington are upset at the Councilor for bringing the public into this issue through Front Porch Forum, most citizens I’ve heard from are grateful. E.g., as quoted from the Free Press… Gene Palumbo, “We need more information. We’re all curious.”
In another case, a selectboard member in Essex Town posted a campaign announcement plugging her re-election across the 18 FPF neighborhood forums in her area. Other folks rightfully questioned this use of FPF, concerned about fair access to voters through FPF… fair between incumbents who enjoy wide access vs. challengers without access. Well, FPF has a solution in place!
As laid out in FPF’s election-use guidelines, anyone on the ballot may post a single campaign announcement across ALL relevant FPF neighborhood forums. So, everyone gets ONE shot to reach all FPF members.
Burlington grappled with many ballot items (e.g., instant run-off voting, IRV) on FPF this year, as well as debating choice of candidates. Westford got into school budget issues. Huntington explored conflict of interest. Starksboro heard from candidates for two races… the first contested seats in years. A Milton challenger used FPF and other means to unseat an incumbent.
Several local political observers report that Front Porch Forum is a surprisingly powerful new tool for both elections and ongoing governance. Now that FPF’s service region blankets one-quarter of the state’s population (Chittenden and Grand Isle Counties, plus Starksboro), we’re hearing from campaigns for statewide office as they ramp up for November 2010. So weigh in and stay tuned!
Amazing! It’s not every day that an author of Bill McKibben‘s statue writes a feature story about Front Porch Forum… let alone with a subtitle of “How New England can save the world!” But there it is… in the March/April 2010 issue of Yankee Magazine. Here’s a snippet…
Susan Comerford, a longtime community organizer and now associate dean for academic affairs and
Credit: William Duke
research at the University of Vermont’s College of Education and Social Services, calls it “the best community organizing tool that’s come along in the last 30 or 40 years.” To understand its importance, says Comerford (who started posting on the forum the day she needed a recommendation for a carpenter), you have to think about what’s happened in the American economy in recent decades.
“It’s not that people care less about community,” she notes. “It’s that the economy has shifted how much people have to work to keep up their standard of living. You don’t have one of the two partners home during the day making all those social connections, providing some sense of safety to the neighborhood. People have less disposable time than they used to.”
In a world like that, a system that lets you sit down for 10 minutes at the end of the day and learn what’s happened to your neighbors should, in Comerford’s view, earn Wood-Lewis one of those MacArthur “genius” grants.
UPDATE: The media coverage of Bill’s look at FPF is growing. Check it out here, starting March 1, 2010.
How many people have we heard from who want to blast their political message across a wide swath of Front Porch Forum? Too many to count.
It makes sense. FPF has a huge local audience and Town Meeting Day is March 2… less than a week away. Candidates, political parties, advocacy groups… they all are working to get the word out about their issue, their campaign.
But at its core, FPF isn’t about blasting out a single message to thousand of local homes. It’s about neighborhood-level conversation. Any local resident may join the single FPF neighborhood forum where he/she lives and post to his/her heart’s content. (FPF is available in 25 Vermont towns.)
Most people are glad to read items from their clearly identified nearby neighbors… then continue the conversations on the sidewalk or at the local store or school. FPF members seem less excited about reading one-way bulk postings from non-nearby neighbors.
That said, FPF does offer a range of options around elections, spelled out in our FAQ. If you want to weigh in before Town Meeting, check out the guidelines and start posting!
Case in point… a Burlington resident who opposes a ballot measure to repeal Instant Runoff Voting. She asked FPF to broadcast her posting across many of Burlington’s nearly 40 online neighborhood forums. We declined and encouraged her to post it on her “home” neighborhood forum and ask friends in other neighborhoods to forward her message.
She took our advice and now we see her message popping up all over the city, and in each case it has a lead-in sentence from the friend stating their agreement with her position. So now thousands of potential voters are getting the message, each with an extra pitch from a nearby neighbor… very effective. “Best advocacy tool in town,” is how she put it.
And the original advocate had to convince dozens of friends across town to help her get her message out. This is democracy! Just the opposite of big money buying elections through mass media.
Indeed, I answered a knock on my door this morning and found a neighbor returning a borrowed pan. We took the opportunity to discuss the merits of the IRV-repeal ballot measure for five minutes, each getting a little more food for thought before our respective moments in the voting booth next Tuesday. A great use of Front Porch Forum!
Thanks to VT State Rep. Suzi Wizowaty and 23 co-sponsors for honoring Front Porch Forum users with HCR235!
House Concurrent Resolution 235
Congratulating Front Porch Forum on Its 10th Anniversary
Offered by: Representatives Wizowaty of Burlington, Aswad of Burlington, Bissonnette of Winooski, Donovan of Burlington, Frank of Underhill, Head of South Burlington, Heath of Westford, Jerman of Essex, Johnson of South Hero, Krebs of South Hero, Larson of Burlington, Lippert of Hinesburg, Lorber of Burlington, Minter of Waterbury, O’Brien of Richmond, Pugh of South Burlington, Ram of Burlington, Spengler of Colchester, Stevens of Waterbury, Till of Jericho, Waite-Simpson of Essex, Weston of Burlington, Wright of Burlington and Zuckerman of Burlington
Whereas, Front Porch Forum (FFP) has helped thousands of Vermont neighbors connect and build real community through its free, online service, and
Whereas, FPF now hosts 140 online neighborhood forums that blanket all of Chittenden and Grand Isle Counties, plus Starksboro, and
Whereas, more than 17,000 Vermont households subscribe to FPF, including in excess of 40 percent of dozens of neighborhoods and towns, and
Whereas, hundreds of local businesses and public officials use FPF to connect with Vermont customers and constituents, and
Whereas, thousands of Vermonters use FPF to find lost pets, report break-ins, organize neighborhood clean-ups and block parties, give away and sell household items, announce public events, debate local issues, and more, and
Whereas, FPF has been recognized nationally for helping Vermonters lead more civically engaged lives, and
Whereas, FPF looks forward to expanding its service to all Vermont towns, and
Whereas, today, March 30, 2010, marks Front Porch Forum’s 10th anniversary, now therefore be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives: That the General Assembly congratulates Front Porch Forum, Inc. on its 10th anniversary and its success in reinvigorating Vermont neighborhoods while building new online communities, and be it further
Resolved: That the Secretary of State be directed to send a copy of this resolution to Michael Wood-Lewis at Front Porch Forum, Inc. in Burlington.
Bill McKibben wrote a good book about local solutions to global threats, like climate change, called Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future…
McKibben’s animating idea is that we need to move beyond “growth” as the paramount economic ideal and pursue prosperity in a more local direction, with cities, suburbs, and regions producing more of their own food, generating more of their own energy, and even creating more of their own culture and entertainment. He shows this concept blossoming around the world with striking results, from the burgeoning economies of India and China to the more mature societies of Europe and New England. For those who worry about environmental threats, he offers a route out of the worst of those problems; for those who wonder if there isn’t something more to life than buying, he provides the insight to think about one’s life as an individual and as a member of a larger community.
It’s fascinating to assert that local actions can have a real impact on such huge problems as global warming. This was brought to mind today by an encouraging post in Westford, VT on Front Porch Forum…
As someone very interested in renewable energy systems that works in Westford, I’m encouraged by the recent posts from neighbors sharing their experiences with solar hot water heaters. These forward-thinking individuals made the investment with less information and financial incentives than is now available and today they are reaping the financial and environmental rewards.
Other neighbors have recently installed photovoltaic systems or are considering wind to generate their own electricity.
Please continue sharing your stories. You are an inspiration.
Yes, by all means, let’s keep inspiring each other!
Thanks to the Vermont Telecom Authority for pointing Vermonters to Front Porch Forum. While it makes sense for local folks to use online tools from the mega corporations — Goolge, Facebook, Craigslist, Yahoo, etc. — it’s reassuring when Vermont-bred dot.com services (iBrattleboro, Seven Days, Vermont Tiger, Green Mountain Daily, FPF, etc.) get a little recognition from our public leaders.
Indeed, while a growing number of people understand and support the idea of buying local, extending the same notion to online habits has yet to get traction. Just as sure as dollars spent in a local coffee shop add up to benefit the local economy more than the same money spent at a Starbucks, clicks on locally owned and operated websites contribute to a vibrant small-scale local alternative to the Wal-Marts of the online world.
Click Local!
How rich are you? That’s the question that the website Global Rich List asks. How do you stack up to the neighbors?
Well, if you consider yourself a global citizen, you may be surprised. Enter your annual income and see for yourself. Compelling.
I’d love to see a Global Neighbor List that would rate folks based on social capital, rather than just financial capital.
Update: Just heard from Knight… guess our proposal is back in the running. More later.
Original post: Regrettably, the Knight News Challenge judges weren’t swayed by Front Porch Forum‘s proposal enough to take us beyond the second round of judging this year. We’re glad that we made it into the top 10% of thousands of project ideas from around the globe, but it’s tough to take “no” nonetheless.
1, 2, 3… deep breath… okay, enough of that… onward and upward. Lots of other irons in the fire, not to mention the our daily work of meeting the needs of our 17,000 subscribers back home (which include nearly half of our dear state’s largest city!). These are exciting times for FPF… more good news to come soon.
And… the comments coming in on the Knight News Challenge website pack their own punch. Here’s a sample…
The people of Westford, VT continue to do amazing things with Front Porch Forum… lots of voices weighing in about lots of topics. Here’s a comment about one topic gleaned from a blog today…
Principals like feedback, right? Well, we need feedback but it can be difficult to deal with at times. I’ve been thinking a lot about a new web 2.0 type of feedback has affected my school. Our little town in northern Vermont has a web forum called the “Front Porch Forum” and folks have been using it to discuss our upcoming school budget. There have been a wide range of opinions voiced on this forum. It has seemed a bit divisive to me with a range of opinions from “Teachers make too much money, they should take a pay cut” to “Our teachers work hard and deserve their pay.” So why does this seem different to me? People have always held these kinds of opinions. We used to have an annual meeting where people would openly discuss the budget before casting their vote. In my years as a Vermont principal, I have heard many similar comments go back and forth at the annual meeting, but comments stopped when the meeting broke for lunch. Now the comments go on for days in an open forum. And the comments seem a bit sharper – perhaps because you are not looking at your neighbors when you are typing on your keyboard. My superintendent and I have been talking about the urge to respond to these comments. Certainly, some erroneous information needed to be corrected, but many of the comments took care of themselves. When one person insinuated that we spent too much money on busing high school students, another person chimed in to say that she has to drive her child to high school every day because there is no bus. The conversations have died down now and I kind of miss them. We vote on our school budget in a few weeks and I want to know what people are thinking. Reading the forum was like lurking and listening to conversations at the gas pump or the parking lot after a ball game. While I didn’t like everything I heard, it was better to know what people were thinking and saying.
And my response…
Glad to hear that Front Porch Forum is proving valuable in your town. My wife and I started it about three years ago in the South End of Burlington where we live, and now it serves 25 northwest Vermont towns by hosting 140 online neighborhood forums (the one you mention is but one of them). Remarkably (to us at least!), 17,000 area households subscribe with more joining every day. Nearly half of your town subscribes to FPF now. And, as you know, each posting comes from a clearly identified nearby neighbor (not anonymous or distant folk). It’s our hope that this kind of communication helps neighbors connect and build community locally… that comments on our virtual front porch lead to real face-to-face conversations on actual front porches (and country stores, town libraries, sidewalks, etc.). Best wishes with the upcoming vote… hopefully more discussion up front (via FPF as well as face-to-face around town) will lead to the best results.
Please take a moment to vote for Front Porch Forum‘s proposal to the Knight News Challenge. The Knight Foundation awards about $5 million each year to promising projects in the local news arena.
FPF’s application made it through the first round of judging and is now among about 200 finalists… exciting!
Click here to vote… then click on the right-most star… and leave a comment at the bottom.
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