Category Archives: Democracy

Information + Communication + Civic Engagement = ??

Posted on Thursday, September 18, 2008 by No comments yet

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”

Posted on Sunday, September 14, 2008 by No comments yet

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.

Using online services to fight vs. commit crime

Posted on Wednesday, September 3, 2008 by No comments yet

I like CraigsList and am in awe of its unfathomunable scale (estimated value: $9 billion).  And occasionally people will draw comparisons to our comparatively tiny start-up, Front Porch Forum.

So it was interesting today when someone pointed out that the local versions of both services are in the news this week here in Burlington… but with different spins…

CraigsList for being used to commit crimes (alleged prostitution) and…

Front Porch Forum for being used to fight crimes (vandalism, theft, speeding).

E-State VPT Show

Posted on Friday, August 29, 2008 by No comments yet

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

Posted on Monday, August 25, 2008 by No comments yet

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?

Posted on Tuesday, August 19, 2008 by 1 comment

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.

More on Old North End quality of life

Posted on Wednesday, July 30, 2008 by No comments yet

The depth of community running through Burlington’s Old North End is bubbling to the surface more and more these days. As discussed previously, a number of residents used Front Porch Forum to spark a discussion about drug dealing, public safety and overall quality of life issues. Some natural community organizers among them, channeled the energy evident on Front Porch Forum and organized a community meeting… held last night.

Here’s a report posted to FPF by State Rep.

Tonight’s forum was well attended and I must admit the discussion left me a bit humbled. While I get frustrated with late night walk-by noise and we’ve been talking about fireworks waking us up late at night all too many in the Old North End live with drug deals, theft and more on a daily basis.

The message from [Police] Chief Schirling was loud and clear: they need our help. Even if you know the police could not make it to your street in time to stop the disturbance they are constantly building cases and monitoring our neighborhoods to figure out where their attention is most needed.

Burlington Police at 658-2700. You might also find their Citizen’s Guide to Reporting Crime helpful.

And John Briggs reported for the Burlington Free Press too…

Crime numbers are down, yet it doesn’t feel that way for many residents in Burlington’s Old North End this summer.

Worries about the quality of life in the neighborhood are nothing new, but the approach to a variety of issues at a well-attended community meeting Tuesday, from drug sales to noise, was more “What can we do?” rather than “How can we get them?” as it was just a few years ago.

That’s great… so good to hear that the tone was mostly positive and working toward solutions. This was our goal when we took the unusual steps of suspending the topic for a couple weeks on one of the FPF Old North End neighborhood forums… it had wandered away from being civil and constructive. Encouraging results.

We’re starting to see something similar happen in Winooski now through Front Porch Forum… civil and constructive conversation among neighbors (and local public officials).

UPDATE: The Free Press published my letter to the editor today… much appreciated…

Old North Enders engaged for solutions

We were thrilled to see that local residents were focused more on “What can we do?” rather than “How can we get them?” at the recent community meeting about crime (“Old North End worried about quality of life,” July 30).

We’re humbled that thousands of neighbors have used FrontPorchForum.com to engage in civil and constructive conversation online about these persistent challenges. And we’re also glad that so many people heeded the call to move the conversation offline and engage in face-to-face dialogue at community meetings.

On the whole, we see more people getting to know their neighbors and engaging in solving local problems — a hopeful sign for the Old North End and Burlington.

MICHAEL WOOD-LEWIS
Burlington
The writer is the co-founder of FrontPorchForum.com.

27% of U.S. Adults not Online

Posted on Monday, July 14, 2008 by No comments yet

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.

FPF Ad Hits Home

Posted on Tuesday, July 8, 2008 by No comments yet

Wow!  Just got a copy of the following letter from an FPF subscriber sent to one of our advertisers…

Dear RETN,

Please forward to Scott Campitelli, and your Board of Directors.

Thanks for advertising on Front Porch Forum. I often click on the sponsor links to learn about new local products and services – most are familiar to me. But today, I saw your sponsorship and as I had never heard of RETN was intrigued. I was so moved by your outstanding video piece on Aljazeera that I was motivated to look up and call and email my City Council Members to express my thoughts!

Thanks for a great news piece and many thanks for your support of another truly local and valuable community resource … Front Porch Forum.

I look forward to returning to your site often.

Thanks,

Geo

We hear this kind of feedback about FPF sponsors frequently… just don’t get it in writing too often!  Thanks Geo!

Hometown Daily Covers Front Porch Forum

Posted on Friday, July 4, 2008 by No comments yet

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