Category Archives: Front Porch Forum
A Big Shout Out to Local Business
A recent posting to the Williston Forum by FPF member Jeff:
I would like to take a minute to say thank you to Corey and Jake at JC Property Management.
On a recent early Sunday morning, on our way to go to a ski race at Sugarbush, we stopped at a parking lot in Hinesburg to grab something out of the back of our Suburban. Unknown to me, one of our bags fell out of the back. When we got to Sugarbush, we discovered the bag was missing.
After getting home and not finding the bag, we realized what had happened. After driving back to check the parking lot, we called the Police hoping someone turned it in. We also posted on Front Porch Forum. That was the best thing we did.
About a week later I received a call from Kory. He and his partner had found the bag while plowing that snowy morning. He had been searching for the owner. But, there was no identification tags on the bag. He was told by a friend to look on FPF.
Thankfully, he did. We were reunited with the bag. We had offered a reward for the safe return of the bag. Kory would not take the reward. He was just doing a good deed.
I want to thank Kory and the guys at JC Property Management. They are really good, honest guys. If you need work done at your property, I highly recommend giving them a call.
FPF’s 2021 Public Benefit Report
Front Porch Forum is a Vermont public benefit corporation. To that end, our social mission (aka public benefit) is front and center in all our work.
Each year, per state law, we publish a report about our progress in helping neighbors connect and build community in our territory.
Take a look on our About Us page or find the report right here. Feedback is always welcome.
Consider This Around Vermont Elections…
More neighbors are talking about voting, ballot issues, and local concerns in the weeks leading up to Town Meeting Day. New candidates and incumbents are sharing their platforms too. While some members say it can feel like a lot of content (often heated!), consider what this member in Springfield, VT, shared recently on her Front Porch Forum…
“While I’ve posted numerous times over the last couple of years looking for referrals for home improvement projects—and gotten great tips—how cool is it that FPF has become a place to learn about community issues and the people putting themselves out there to make a difference!“
“I don’t have time to call five different candidates to ask how they feel about one issue or another in Springfield schools. In a town without a newspaper, I appreciate the back and forth on FPF and opportunity to learn from the candidates themselves and from community members who support one person or another.” • Kelly in Springfield
See more examples of Vermonters appreciating FPF during election season.
Learn more about FPF Paid Campaign Postings here.
A Kinder, Gentler Social Network
Big Tech and social media giants are under the microscope more than ever. Front Porch Forum continues to draw attention from news outlets as the more friendly alternative among sites that are meant to connect us.
Julia Angwin, Editor-in-Chief of The Markup, a popular publication investigating Big Tech, recently spoke with FPF’s co-founder Michael Wood-Lewis to learn more about how FPF keeps conversations neighborly and kind, while other social media sites seem to be losing civility.
Read the full interview here.
Healthy Digital Discourse
The Aspen Institute just issued its Commission for Information Disorder final report. We’re humbled to see Front Porch Forum recognized among a short list of approaches that are making real progress instead of feeding the spread of disinformation. The commission includes celebrities like Craig Newmark, Katie Couric and Prince Harry, along with an array of national experts.
FPF was held as an example of how to
“Develop and scale communication tools, networks, and platforms that are designed to bridge divides, build empathy, and strengthen trust among communities.“
An Evening of Courageous Conversations
On November 18, FPF participated in a virtual event celebrating Vermonters taking One Small Step. VPR and StoryCorps have spent the last several months connecting residents with different views who might never talk otherwise for a simple, personal conversation. Hear voices from the project followed by an interactive conversation with participants and experts, including Front Porch Forum’s co-founder Michael Wood-Lewis. Learn about the project’s intentions and how to incorporate “courageous conversations” into our daily lives. Listen to the show here.
Front Porch Forum and Braver Angels joined the panel to share how we help facilitate these conversations, build community and provide the tools to do have these conversations.
Healthy Social Media? Experts Weigh In
Vermont’s own example of “Small Tech,” Front Porch Forum, drew several mentions this past week as the antithesis of Facebook and other destructive Big Tech.
Michelle Goldberg stated in the New York Times:
“Deb Roy, director of the M.I.T. Center for Constructive Communication and former chief media scientist at Twitter,… believes that the potential for a healthy social media exists — he points to Front Porch Forum, the heavily moderated, highly localized platform for people who live in Vermont. But it’s notable that his best example is something so small, quirky and relatively low-tech. Sure, there are ways of communicating over the internet that don’t promote animosity, but probably not with the platforms that are now dominant.“
While Jason Kelley and Danny O’Brien at the Electronic Frontier Foundation shared…
“[FPF] users say that while most of the internet ‘is like a fire hose of information and communication, Front Porch Forum is like slow drip irrigation.’ While many of the most popular social networks need to scale to perform for investors, which relies on moving fast and breaking things, Front Porch Forum could be described as a site for moving slowly and fixing things.”
And civic tech expert Micah Sifry said in his SubStack newsletter The Connector…
“Ian Bogost makes a good argument in The Atlantic for legislators or regulators setting speed and volume limits on sites like Facebook. Getting the tuning right won’t be simple, but in the same way that we’ve come up with safety rules for all kinds of products, we need them for social media. I’d start by looking at what has worked for a platform like Front Porch Forum, and try limiting the size of people’s ‘friend’ lists and the speed of comments.”
Local Business Success on FPF!
Timely Tire started at an untimely moment for a new business — right before the pandemic. Between a brilliant business concept and an effective channel to get the word out to neighbors, the business not only survived, but thrived over the past year and a half.
With the help of FPF ads and neighbor recommendations, Timely Tire grew from a startup to serving nearly 600 cars in nine weeks. This growth was featured in Seven Days and the Burlington Free Press.
Set up a business profile today, you’ll also automatically get your business listed in the new FPF Directory.
Introducing the FPF Directory
Finding great local businesses just got easier with the FPF Directory.
The Directory is a collection of more than 10,000 Vermont businesses and nonprofits that participate in Front Porch Forum. Browse the 245+ categories to find local businesses and organizations that meet your needs:
Find featured listings at the top of the Directory page:
Scroll down to check out new listings in your area:
A slider at the top of the page allows you to search for the local businesses closest to your community, or to search across the entire state:
You can also “favorite” businesses to add them to your personal “My Favorites” list:
Have a look at the FPF Directory today, and start building a list of your favorite local businesses!
Strange but true FPF tales
We’re often pleasantly surprised by the stories, fun and witty moments found on Front Porch Forum. Here’s one to bring a smile to your Monday:
“Did you drop a cheese ball on Berlin St. Friday afternoon? I saw it rolling down the sidewalk too late to get your attention. We have it safe in the fridge, hopefully it wasn’t for tonight’s dinner!” • Ken in Montpelier
“If it weren’t for Front Porch Forum would we even know about the runaway mozzarella ball rolling down Berlin Street, rescued by kind strangers? Good to know these oddball random acts of kindness.” • Kristin in Montpelier
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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