Category Archives: Updates and Admin

Weathering the Recession: New Tools for Vermont Businesses

Posted on Monday, March 30, 2009 by • No comments yet

Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility is pulling together another dynamite conference this spring… On the Long Trail: Sustaining Success… May 5, 2009, at the Hilton Hotel on Battery Street in Burlington.

I’m thrilled to be leading a session with a great panel.  We aim to draw a knowledgeable and questioning crowd to assure a lively discussion.  Register here.

Weathering the Recession: New Tools for Vermont Businesses
Amy Kirschner, Vermont Sustainable Exchange
Jesse McDougall, Chelsea Green Publishing
Glenn McRae, Intervale Center’s Food Hub Program
Linda Rossi, Vermont Small Business Development Center
moderator: Michael Wood-Lewis, Front Porch Forum
The economic downturn sweeping the globe is not sparing the Vermont business sector. However, small and micro businesses in Vermont are far from powerless in the face of this recession. An emerging crop of new tools, many of them internet-based and developed by Vermonters, are providing new ways to cut costs, generate revenue, form partnerships, raise capital and weather these tight times. You’ll hear about services that match workers and jobs, buyers and sellers, and barter partners; give away unwanted inventory; raise capital; and more. Join the discussion, and take away concepts and tips for keeping up and getting ahead.

Front Porch Forum Expands to Starksboro, VT

Posted on Monday, February 16, 2009 by • 23 comments

Thanks to the generousity of the Orton Family Foundation, Front Porch Forum is now available in Starksboro, VT!

Any and all Starksboro residents are encouraged to sign up for this free community-building service immediately.  I see that we have two dozens subscribers there already… I guess word got out before the “official” launch.

Finally, thanks to the warm welcome this evening from the Selectboard and Art and Soul folks.

UPDATE: Here’s Orton’s news release (April 13, 2009).  Already 20% of Starksboro subscribes to FPF!

Pick your platform…

Posted on Friday, January 30, 2009 by • No comments yet

Pew keeps cranking out the internet data.  A recent report shows…

  • 74% of adult Americans are online

Of those online…

  • 2% visit a virtual world
  • 11% create a blog
  • 26% participate in online auctions
  • 32% read blog
  • 32% rate a person or product
  • 35% use social networking sites
  • 38% send instant messages
  • 89% use search engines
  • 91% use email

So, if I understand the data, Pew is saying that 26% of the 74% of American adults online participate in online auctions… that’s 19% of all American adults.  So, here’s the list for all American adults (not just those online)…

  • 1% visit a virtual world (e.g., Second Life)
  • 8% create a blog (e.g., Twitter, Word Press, Blogger)
  • 19% participate in online auctions (e.g., eBay)
  • 24% read blogs (not necessarily via RSS?)
  • 24% rate a person or product (e.g., Angie’s List, Yelp)
  • 26% use social networking sites (e.g., Facebook, MySpace)
  • 28% send instant messages
  • 66% use search engines (e.g., Google, Yahoo, MSN)
  • 67% use email

Front Porch Forum aims to have as many residents of a neighborhood as possible subscribe and participate on the associated FPF neighborhood forum.  In a sense, we host non-stop online block parties… and the more the merrier, as long as they live in the neighborhood.

Because FPF is an online service, we’re already limited, on average, to just 74% of the adult population.  If we had selected a platform/distribution channel such as a Facebook application or instant messaging or Twitter… well, we’d only be able to get, at best, about one quarter of the neighbors on board.  Of course, these numbers will change over time.

So, for now, we use email newsletters and a web-based archiving system.  This allows us to reach, on average, 67% of the adults in each neighborhood.  In our pilot region, more than 20% subscribe, with 40% on board in the City of Burlington.  We’d never have been that successful if we had limited ourselves by going with one of these other, sexier platforms.

Save Money on Telecom through FPF

Posted on Friday, January 16, 2009 by • No comments yet

We’re proud to announce a new set of telecom specials made available to eligible Burlington Front Porch Forum members via Burlington Telecom.  If you live in Burlington in an area served by Burlington Telecom and are interested in top-of-the-line internet/cable TV/telephone service options, please check this out.  Also, existing BT subscribers can get special discounts via FPF on various upgrades.

As a recent FPF member said… “I can think of no reason not to sign up with Burlington Telecom as soon as possible… and now it’s even cheaper through Front Porch Forum.”

Every person who mentions Front Porch Forum when signing up or upgrading with BT will get their special deal and will earn a referral fee for FPF that will help keep our community-building service free of charge.

Raffle Winners!

Posted on Monday, January 12, 2009 by • No comments yet

Congratulations to our 22 Front Porch Forum “Nine Words for 2009” raffle winners and thanks to our prize donors!

1. Michele Sandquist, Bolton — Higher Ground
2. Jeremy Brotz, Burlington — ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center at the Leahy Center for Lake Champlain
3. Emily Eschner, Burlington — Sleepy Hollow Inn
4. Kurt Kaffenberger, Burlington — Vermont Frost Heaves
5. Krista Nickerson, Burlington — The Grass Gauchos
6. Susan Rutherford, Burlington — Gardener’s Supply
7. Zach Usadi-Henrickson, Burlington — Burlington Telecom
8. Laurel Maurer, Colchester — Seventh Generation
9. Colin McNaull, Hinesburg — The Grass Gauchos
10. LindaLou Parker, Essex Junction — Trading Post for Little Folks
11. Laurie Darling, Milton — Aikido of Champlain Valley
12. Patricia Bezalel, Shelburne — PhotoGarden
13. Lori Peckham, Shelburne — Woolen Mill Health Club
14. Peter Baldor, Richmond — Woolen Mill Health Club
15. Joe O’Brien, Richmond — ReCycle North
16. Tim Barritt, South Burlington — Sleepy Hollow Inn
17. Loretta Marriott, South Burlington — Higher Ground
18. Max Henson-Stroud, Westford — Trading Post for Little Folks
19. Chuck McGill, Westford — Sweet Clover Market
20. Kevin Stephens, Williston — Higher Ground
21. Liz Dallas, Winooski — Aikido of Champlain Valley
22. Petie Shea-Gamache, Winooski — Woolen Mill Health Club

Read some of the wonderful entries here and here.

Nine Words for 2009 – Enter FPF Raffle

Posted on Monday, January 5, 2009 by • 58 comments

You can say a lot with a little.  Witness Hemingway’s short, short story:  “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”

To celebrate 2009 and have a little fun, we invite Front Porch Forum members (any resident of Chittenden County, VT is eligible) to submit postings to their neighborhood forum between now and Jan. 9, 2009.  Any message that has EXACTLY nine words will be entered into a raffle for the following 22 prizes…

Don’t delay!  Post your “car for sale,” “seeking snow removal” or “lost cat” message today… or share a neighborhood resolution, poem, joke, hope for our nation… you decide.  Any nine-word posting received by Front Porch Forum between now and Jan. 9 will be entered in the raffle!  An individual may enter the drawing up to twice a day.

UPDATE 1: Posting a comment to this blog will NOT enter you in the raffle! You must post to your FPF neighborhood forum to enter the drawing.

Thanks to our raffle sponsors and happy 2009!  -Michael

P.S.  Thanks to Champlain College Professor Tim Brookes for inspiration (hey, that’s nine words!).

P.P.S.  Trouble posting?  Read this.

UPDATE 2: Here are some of the entries that are flooding in.  And more.  And here are the winners!

Thou shall not call Front Porch Forum a “listserv”

Posted on Friday, December 19, 2008 by • 2 comments

Occasionally friends of our service will describe Front Porch Forum as a “listserv.”  Ack!  Happened again yesterday at a great community and communication meeting hosted by CCTV.  Here’s my response as to why Front Porch Forum is not a “listserv”…

  1. TRADEMARK:  Listserv is a trademarked brand name for the first email list software that is now a commercial product developed by L-Soft (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LISTSERV).
  2. PERCEPTION:  People generally have a bad impression of mailing lists, in my experience, so, from a marketing perspective, I don’t brand FPF as being anything like a “listserv,” mail list, Yahoo Group, etc.  Also, “Listserv” is so ’90s!
  3. A NEW PLATFORM:  FPF shares things in common with many communication tools… mail lists, blogs, newsletters, bulletin boards, block parties, town meetings, letters to the editor, ballot box, etc.  But it’s its own thing… a new platform.  Front Porch Forum hosts networks of online neighborhood forums that blanket a region.  In our pilot, we cover all of Chittenden County, VT with 130 forums and already 12,000 households subscribe, including one-third of Burlington.  As we grow, we’ll add networks, e.g., one new network of 40 neighborhood forums would cover all of adjacent Washington County.  We also have several specific details that are not common in mailing lists.
  4. DISTRIBUTION TECHNOLOGIES:  FPF uses email and its website (online archive) to distribute its content now.  In 2009, we’ll be looking to add other options (e.g., RSS)… and who knows what lies ahead.  FPF has a very specific mission (helping neighbors connect and build community) and strategies for fulfilling that mission.  We build and revise our own software to help us meet that mission… a different approach than picking a popular software tool off the shelf and trying to make it work.  That is, FPF is very much mission driven, not technology driven.

AOL webmail can’t send email to some addresses

Posted on Saturday, November 22, 2008 by • 4 comments

AOL made some changes in the second half of 2008 to the way its customers’ outgoing email is sent when using AOL’s webmail option.  One result of these otherwise invisible changes is that messages sent by an AOL-using Front Porch Forum subscriber to any FrontPorchForum.com address do not arrive successfully.  So, regrettably, FPF will not receive neighborhood forum postings or requests for help made by email in this manner.  We’ve notified AOL many times and have received no response.  Here are solutions for AOL-using FPF members…

Post to your FPF neighborhood forum…

  1. Via our website. Go to http://frontporchforum.com and click Log In.  Once logged in successfully, click on “Using the Web” under “Post Your Message.”  Enter your message and headline and check your neighborhood forum.  Hit the “Post Message” button.
  2. Via email using an email client. AOL’s broken software appears to be tied to its webmail, so if you use an email client (e.g., Mozilla Thunderbird or Apple Mail) you should be able to post fine.
  3. Using a different email provider If you have a non-AOL email address, add it to your FPF account (go to http://frontporchforum.com, click Log In, then Account).  Then post using that email address.  Free Gmail is one option.

Contact FPF…

  1. Using our website… http://frontporchforum.com/about Again, you won’t be able to contact FPF using AOL’s webmail.

We’re sorry about this inconvenience.  It appears to be yet one more problem with AOL.  If you run into this problem, please complain to AOL and ask them to fix it.  Yahoo Mail has serious problems too.  We respectfully recommend not using either service if you have other viable options available to you.  Thanks for your participation.

Limiting Ad Inventory and Banning Ad Networks

Posted on Monday, October 13, 2008 by • No comments yet

Thanks to Daniel for the link to this New York Times piece about newspapers’ online ad sales.  Some points…

After 17 quarters of ballooning growth, online revenue at newspaper sites is falling. In the second quarter, it was down 2.4 percent compared with last year, to $777 million…

Overall online advertising, however, is strong. Display advertising, the graphics-rich ads that newspaper sites carry, grew 7.6 percent in the second quarter…

Unique readers in August were 17 percent higher than a year earlier, at 69.3 million…

Large papers… can sell premium ad space… for $15 to $50 for every thousand impressions. But these and other papers of all sizes have increasingly relied on middlemen — known as ad networks — to sell less desirable space, typically for around $1 for every thousand impressions…

There are now more than 300 networks, most offering custom ads, and they are popular venture-capital investments and acquisition targets…

Some sites unaffiliated with newspapers have also limited inventory and banned ad networks, and many report good results…

Front Porch Forum works with a limited ad inventory and we do not use ad networks.

One night, two national awards for Front Porch Forum

Posted on Tuesday, October 7, 2008 by • No comments yet

What a humbling couple of days.  I’ve just returned home from Rural TeleCon 2008.  Yesterday I led a rich discussion about local community building via Front Porch Forum with a room full of telecom professionals, and this evening Front Porch Forum collected two wonderful honors…

First, the RTC People’s Choice Award — Most Innovative, which included a $500 check.  And then, the real shocker, the RTC Champion Award ($3,000)… this is the top national award from the Rural Telecom Congress!  And a genuine honor, especially considering the caliber of the other award finalists.

Credit for FPF’s recognition is shared with many collaborators and advisers, as well as our 11,000 Chittenden County subscribers, 200 participating local public officials, 350 FPF Neighborhood Volunteers, 100 local advertisers, and many donors.  And thanks to the RTC board of directors and conference staff!

See FPF’s growing list of awards and recognition, media coverage, and member testimonials.

UPDATE: Thanks to Cathy Resmer at Seven Days for her coverage on Blurt and Vermont 3.0.

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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