Category Archives: Democracy
Information + Communication + Civic Engagement = ??
Keith Harris in the United Kingdom writes today that “What’s missing is communication, not information” on his blog Neighbourhoods. Some of his points…
This is very definitely work in progress but maybe the argument is something like this:
- for various reasons there is a crisis of local social connections which causes evident damage
- examples of local communication (post-its on windscreens, notes on lamp-posts, message graffiti and so on) point to the inadequacies of existing communication channels, especially in contexts of high mobility and the erosion of local life
- online networks can augment (not replace) other channels of communication and stimulate more interaction (I never understood why this should ever have been in doubt)
- we need to find out what research has been done and where the gaps are, showcase good practice and clarify the lessons. This will help the system-builders, and then
- we have to go to to the housing movement and local government with incontestible arguments that this stuff works and should be developed. Might that do it?
This reminds me of some of the conversation that the Knight Foundation has been sparking through its various efforts. Knight is pushing easily accessible information at the local level as a needed element to sustain our democracy in the United States. Hear, hear! But others, including me, have pushed to have civic engagement be part of that mission as well. And here’s Keith telling us that communication trumps information.
I think we need all three to feed our democracy… an engaged citizenry that can communicate with each other and develop, access and share information. I’m thrilled that Front Porch Forum is on the cutting edge of all this.
“The possibility of human-sized communication”
We keep stumbling over pieces about the value of “local” in the digital universe (and vice versa)… right out of Front Porch Forum‘s playbook. Today it was a couple of journalists…
Mark Potts writes in part…
Anyone who questions that people are interested in talking about their communities hasn’t dug in to the plethora of listservs, Yahoo groups and organization sites that already provide coverage of many local communities.
And I definitely recommend reading Howard Owen’s full post. Here’s his opening…
Some people think the web makes the world bigger. I say, it makes it smaller. Some people say the web makes us neighbors with people in Kenya or the Ukraine. I say it makes us better neighbors with the family next door.
There was a time in United States history when newspapers served as a centralizing force for drawing communities together — and then came television, and cable, and satellite — all the forces that did nothing to humanize communication, but made mass communication more mass and less personal.
The Internet brings back the possibility of human-sized communication.
At a time when too many glass-eyed Americans turn to network TV for their “Heroes” and get “Lost” in whatever flimflam Hollywood is dishing out this season, the Web opens up new possibilities for people, local people, people who share a common interest in a common community, to partake in conversation and pursue change with conviction.
E-State VPT Show
Vermont Public Television recently broadcast an hour-long show about the May 29, 2008 symposium in Burlington that explored the community impact of Vermont becoming an “e-state”… that is, full broadband and cell coverage of the entire state. Lots of compelling speakers, including a bit about Front Porch Forum.
Programmer-Journalists and Local Social Capital
Rich Gordon writes today about his journalist-programmer program at Northwestern’s journalism school. He’s looking for a project idea…
For more than half a century, newspaper readership has been declining – and so have a variety of other indicators of civic and community engagement, such as participation in PTA’s, membership in bowling leagues and turnout on Election Day…
What I’ve been wondering about is whether new technologies can, in any way, help rebuild social capital among people who live in the same community. We know that online communities enable people with common interests to build powerful connections even if they are halfway around the world from one another. I’m intrigued by the possibility that we could apply these online community tools to strengthening local bonds.
It’s also hard to ignore that when conversations about the news occur on the Web, they often turn ugly — or, at best, fail to advance the discussion beyond ranting and raving…
Evidence that local media can play a role in fostering community conversation can be found in newspaper history. David Paul Nord’s fascinating book, “Communities of Journalism,” for instance, describes many instances in which newspapers served as community forums…
Cass Sunstein in his book Republic.com – [argues] that online communities can foster isolation and division by enabling people to connect only with those whose characteristics and attitudes are like theirs.
What I might challenge our students to do is come up with ways to improve online conversations about the news — to build social capital and raise the quality of these conversations.
Of course, this is what Front Porch Forum is all about!
Building Community in a Connected Age?
The Snelling Center for Government continues to push on its e-state work. I spoke at the event it co-hosted recently focusing on the question of building the sense of community locally as Vermont moves forward on broadband and cell phone coverage.
Tune in online for conversation and on TV on August 21, 2008 at 8 PM EST for a fresh look at all this… Vermont Public Television.
And the Snelling Center’s blog is starting to get some traction. Check it out.
27% of U.S. Adults not Online
The latest from Pew…
The Pew Internet Project’s May 2008 survey finds that 73% of adults in the U.S. go online. 78% of adults have a cell phone. 55% of adults have broadband at home. Offline Americans are overwhelmingly over age 70, have less than a high school education, and speak a language other than English.
Hometown Daily Covers Front Porch Forum
Thanks to Sally Pollak who wrote an excellent feature article about Front Porch Forum for the Burlington Free Press yesterday.
Photo credit: Alison Redlich, Free Press
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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