Category Archives: Media

FPF BIRTHDAY AND Q AND A

Posted on Thursday, October 2, 2008 by • 1 comment

Front Porch Forum is two years old!  Thanks to everyone helping this local invention grow… 11,000 local household subscribing and counting.  Recognition continues to roll in… PBS just included Front Porch Forum on its short-list of great examples of local community building online, and we’re a finalist for a national award from the Rural Telecom Congress.  http://frontporchforum.com/blog/recognition-and-awards

We get questions…

QUESTION – My friend Sally is not on Front Porch Forum yet, and she swears she’s never heard of it!  But I know I told her to sign up months ago.  What gives?

ANSWER – We hear this kind of thing every day.  While one in five Chittenden County households subscribe to FPF already, that leaves LOTS of people who are not on board yet.  And we depend wholly on our members to spread the word.  Most people need to hear about something like this 7-8 times before they actually register.  So please… reach out today to everyone on your local e-lists (any resident of the 19 towns within Chittenden County are welcome to join this free service)… send them a note encouraging them to join FPF at http://frontporchforum.com Thank you!

QUESTION – Does FPF really work?

ANSWER – Oh yes!  Quotes from FPF members…

  • “Because of Front Porch Forum we found our lost cat! Home safe and sound now!”  -Ila Abramson
  • “Front Porch Forum exponentially multiplied our community’s response to the fundraiser for a neighborhood child battling cancer.”  -Vince Brennan
  • “I was overwhelmed with 15 offers to loan a post hole digger… thanks to Front Porch Forum!”  -Doug Graver
  • “We sold our minivan today to a neighbor through Front Porch Forum. More people called from FPF than from the Burlington Free Press, Cars.com and Craigslist combined.”  -Wolfgang Hokenmaier
  • “More than 80 people turned out for the Neighborhood Planning Assembly… thank you Front Porch Forum.”  -Linda Deliduka
    Lots more… http://frontporchforum.com/testimonials

QUESTION – How can I reach people beyond my own FPF Neighborhood Forum?

ANSWER – Join the FPF Neighborhood Volunteer Forum.  More than 350 local FPF members/boosters participate in this online exchange of county-wide postings… and many volunteers forward what they find there on to their neighbors via FPF.  http://frontporchforum.com/tour/volunteers.php

QUESTION – Can FPF really make a difference?

ANSWER – Well, PEOPLE can and do make a difference when they have easy access to their nearby neighbors.  Some recent discussions on FPF…

  • Essex Junction shooting leads to a neighborhood watch forming and a block party getting organized to help nearby neighbors get to know each other.
  • About 40% of Westford households participate in discussion about town meeting vs. Australian ballot through FPF.
  • Richmond rallies to deal with bridge closure.  Local officials, businesses and citizens turn to each other through FPF.
  • Winooski residents debate City leadership issues.
  • A South Burlington neighborhood starts sharing “Local Secrets”… under-appreciated restaurants, “hidden gem” tailor, etc.
  • Burlington Old North End residents challenge police response to car break-ins.
  • Burlington South End neighborhood debates offensive/clever name of new pizza joint.
  • Burlington New North Enders use FPF to question development of little-known disc golf course being built in Leddy Park.
  • Burlington Hill residents work with police through FPF to catch vandals.
    More… http://frontporchforum.com/blog/?cat=9

QUESTION – How does FPF pay the bills?  And, can businesses reach customers through FPF?

ANSWER – Front Porch Forum sells ad space to local businesses to generate much of its income.  And we’re hearing back from these advertisers (75 and counting) that they are getting solid results.  We have a handful of ad slots still open for this fall for any businesses or nonprofits interested.  And to everyone else reading, please support the FPF sponsors by clicking on the links in their ads and checking out their offerings.  Learn more… http://frontporchforum.com/sponsorship/sponsors.php

QUESTION – I’m not receiving my FPF neighborhood forum anymore.  Help!  [okay, that’s not a question.. ]

ANSWER – Please check your FPF account and keep your email address current.  Also, check your spam filter… PLEASE train it to allow/whitelist incoming messages from frontporchforum.com  Details.. http://frontporchforum.com/faq/#20

Here’s to a colorful fall!

PBS offers Examples of New Media aiding Local Communities

Posted on Friday, September 19, 2008 by • No comments yet

Mark Glaser, New Media Expert for PBS, offers examples of the internet serving local communities…

That’s heady company for FPF… two nationally known Knight Foundation grant recipients.  Everyblock and Spot.Us are both exciting projects.  See Mark’s comments for yourself…

Talk “community building” with FPF: dates and places

Posted on Thursday, September 11, 2008 by • No comments yet

I always learn something valuable, so it’s a pleasure to converse with an audience about Front Porch Forum.  So I’m grateful for the invitations to address these upcoming events.  Please come!

• Connecting with your Essex Neighbors using Front Porch Forum
Brownell Library, Essex Junction Village, Lincoln St
Sept. 15, 2008, 7:00 PM

• Building Community Online: Leveraging the Web 2.0 World for 21st Century Classrooms and Communities
Sept. 26, 2008, 10:15 AM with Dr. Rob Williams
Action Coalition for Media Education
GROWING UP DIGITAL: Kids, Commercialism & New Media Culture
Rock Point School, Burlington, VT

• Sponsor
Intervale Center‘s 20th Anniversary Harvest Barn Dance
Oct. 3, 2008

• Sponsor
UVM’s Center for Rural Studies 30th Anniversary Symposium
Oct. 4, 2008

• Front Porch Forum: Helping Neighbors Connect and Build Community
Oct. 6, 2008, 9:30 AM
• Vermont e-State: National Model for Broadband Community Building
Oct. 7, 2008, 9:30 AM with Lauren-Glenn Davitian and others
Rural TeleCon 2008
Smugglers’ Notch, VT

“Bite Me”… now is that how your mother taught you how to talk?

Posted on Wednesday, September 10, 2008 by • No comments yet

When neighbors start heating up over a topic through Front Porch Forum, our local traditional media often picks up on it and writes a story.  Some issues are of larger public concern, e.g., violence, multi-million-dollar development projects, etc., while others are more modest.  Take today’s story by Suzanne Podhaizer in Seven Days: Right to Bite: New pizzeria offends some sensitive South Enders.  I can attest… it’s been a firey back and forth.

And on the subject of media coverage of FPF, I just looked back at Mike Ives’ well-written 7D piece about neighbors using FPF to combat vandalism in Burlington.  Here’s the traffic rank on the Seven Days website for the past week…

Graffiti Arrest Made

Posted on Saturday, September 6, 2008 by • 1 comment

Posted by Officer Mike Hemond of the Burlington Police Dept. on Front Porch Forum tonight (Sept. 6, 2008)…

Hello everybody – I just wanted to make sure people saw that an arrest was made in the graffiti case that started on the 15th on Hayward Street. Officer Belleville, Mr Derbes, and I worked together to generate some good information for the case, and with the help of Front Porch Forum, the cooperation of the media and the community at large, the suspect was identified, and an arrest was made.  With that being said, I do need people to let me know if they have a “VENSR” tag on their property that hasn’t been reported. All the ones on Hayward and Marble Ave have been taken care of, but if you’ve got other “VENSR”s out there, please let me know. The “PH” tag is part of this case as well, but I have all the ones of that that we need.

Without the help of the neighborhood awareness that we share, and the willingness of members of the community to take action addressing problems in their area, this case would not have been possible. Thanks again for all your help and support as we worked through this, and your patience for the 3 weeks it took to put this together.

See you on the sidewalks,
Mike

WCAX has photos and the Free Press provides a name.

Past posts about this issue… here, here and here.

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).

“Citizen sleuths track taggers, online” from BFP

Posted on Monday, September 1, 2008 by • No comments yet

I like Joel Banner Baird’s opening in his Burlington Free Press article today…

Take notice, Burlington vandals, taggers and would-be thieves: Little Brother is watching you.

And he’s swapping notes with his (and her) neighbors — and the police — on Front Porch Forum, a community-based online network serving Chittenden County…

And he goes on to shed some light on the story we discussed here.  And I just noted a comment left on the Free Press site by wordwhip99…

The po po do the best that they can. And just like every thing else, and everyone else, there’s room for improvement. There’s good cops, and crappy ones. There’s good folks around town, and lazy uncaring ones. Etc. But what it really boils down to is that Americans seem to always rely on someone else to take care of their problems.

It’s a community problem here and cannot rely on just the cops to reduce or solve, but ALL the community members. The parents. The (failing) education system. And so on. Stop looking the other way and speak up when someone throws a candy wrapper or bottle on the ground.

Well, I could go on… I know I speak up, and I applaud others that take some kind of action, as well as Front Porch Forum.

Have you done anything to help your community today?

“All Experts” Recommend Front Porch Forum

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

Just stumbled across this exchange posted on AllExperts.com… (thanks David!)…

Expert: David Beckett
Date: 8/27/2008
Subject: Temporary Housing

Question
Hi David – I read your answers about Burlington and my husband & I decided to move here from Los Angeles a few months ago… We love it here. I am French and we need to go back to France for family reasons from November through March 2009 and I would hate to leave the house empty for a host of reasons.

Ideally we could rent the place (we have a beautiful 4 bedroom house in the Hill section) but I am not sure where to post an ad. The other option would be to have a professional come on a regular basis to ensure that everything is OK (i.e. heating still on). Do you have any recommendations for either solutions?

I assume we are not the only people to leave Vermont in the winter, I was just curious if there were any obvious resources available that we are not aware of.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Answer
Hello Isabelle – Glad you like Burlington! … You might also post a note on your “Front Porch Forum” email list, without your address of course, just asking if neighbors have people to recommend as short term renters or housesitters. If you haven’t gotten onto your neighborhood “Front Porch Forum” yet – I recommend it. You can read archives and sign up at http://www.frontporchforum.com

Please feel free to contact me directly – I’m happy to help. I live in your neighborhood.

Talking FPF in Essex

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

With so much local interest in Front Porch Forum, I love to accept offers to engage an audience.  Here’s one that’s coming right up…

Mon., Sept. 15, 7pm — Connecting with your Essex Neighbors using Front Porch Forum-Michael Wood-Lewis will share tips and stories about how neighborhoods and towns across Chittenden County are making great use of Front Porch Forum. This free local service hosts 130 online neighborhood forums and more than 10,000 Chittenden County households already subscribe, including 700 in Essex Town and Essex Junction Village. Clearly identified nearby neighbors use FPF to find lost pets, report car break-ins, organize block parties, share traffic concerns and offer solutions, recommend plumbers and much more. Sign up and learn more at http://frontporchforum.com

Brownell Library, 6 Lincoln Street, Essex Junction, Vermont 05452 (802) 878-6955

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.

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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