Category Archives: MacArthur Fellows
Emergent Media for Social Entrepreneurs and Nonprofits in Waitsfield #VT July 12
New/Digital Emergent Media for Social Entrepreneurism and Nonprofits
HigherMind Mediaworks to host free July NetsquaredVermont Event
@ Quench ArtSpace in Waitsfield on Thursday, July 12 from 7:00 – 9:00 pm
Curious about Front Porch Forum? Yakking on YouTube? Friending on Facebook? Tweeting on Twitter? All Mad River Valley residents interested in new digital media platforms and how they can be harnessed for effective social entrepreneurism and nonprofit work are invited to a FREE public forum bringing together some of Vermont’s most forward-thinking nonprofit leaders and social entrepreneurs using new/digital emergent media for positive social change.
Our July 12 @Netsquared guest panelist presenters include:
• Lauren Glenn-Davitian and Eli Harrington, who spearheads CommonGoodVT, a Burlington-based organization dedicated to supporting the Vermont nonprofit community. Connect @ www.commongoodvt.org.
• Michael Wood-Lewis, the co-founder of Front Porch Forum, a free community-building service helping neighbors connect, now being used in dozens of towns around Vermont. Network @ frontporchforum.com.
• Sandy Tarburton, Membership and Communications Director for the Northern Forest Canoe Trail. Paddle @ www.northernforestcanoetrail.org.
• Amanda Levinson, pioneering organizer of @Netsquared in Vermont, who founded the Burlington @Netsquared chapter this past winter. Get squared @ www.netsquared.org.
Extra bonuses? Free food, drink, contemporary art, and the crowd sourced wisdom of your friends and neighbors!
Thanks to our food co-sponsor Liz Lovely Cookies of Waitsfield.
See you @ Quench ArtSpace in Waitsfield on Thursday, July 12 @ 7:00 pm. [Thanks to Rob Williams for sharing this announcement and for organizing!]
KillerStartups covers Vermont’s own FPF
#BTV #VT – Burlington-writer-made-good, Emma McGowan, covered Front Porch Forum for KillerStartups this week.
Burlington community engagement survey results
#BTV #VT – Burlington’s Community and Economic Development Office (CEDO) just released the results of a new survey that shows that “sense of community” is highly valued by Burlington citizens. About 44% liked their neighborhood because of friendly neighbors and a strong sense of community. And 10% said that an even stronger sense of community would improve their neighborhood more.
The average respondent (588 total) uses Front Porch Forum, is an English-speaking homeowner age 30 to 60, lives with one other adult and no children, works full-time, and has an annual household income greater than $50,000.
Some other tidbits…
Q: How did you find out about your Neighborhood Planning Assembly?
38% Front Porch Forum
22% Word of mouth
5% Newspaper
35% Other
Q: What do you like about your neighborhood?
52% Proximity to amenities
44% Friendly neighbors/strong sense of community
Lots of other options
Q: What would you change about your neighborhood?
13% Less traffic and speeding
11% Nothing
10% More connection to neighbors
Lots of other options
Q: Are you subscribed to Front Porch Forum?
93% Yes
Q: Which (other) social media do you use?
92% Email
69% Facebook
33% YouTube
21% Twitter
17% Google+
4% None
1% LinkedIn
Several others listed
Q: How did you find out about survey?
69% Front Porch Forum
10% CEDO e-newsletter
4% NPA
4% Friend/co-worker
3% Facebook
2% email
2% Bulletin board
1% Twitter
1% Service provider
0.2% Business
Q: Languages spoken in household?
99% English
6% French
4% Spanish
16 other languages selected by respondents
Q: Rent or own your housing?
30% Rent
70% Own
Q: Number of adults (18 or older) living in household?
20% 1
66% 2
9% 3
3% 4
1% 5
0.4% 6-7
Q: Children under 18 in household?
68% 0
14% 1
14% 2
2% 3
1% 4
Q: Your age?
1% Under 18
18% 18-29
34% 30-44
32% 45-61
13% 62-74
3% 75 and over
Q: Your employment?
58% Work full-time
16% Work part-time
11% Retired
5% Student full-time
4% Unemployed
2% Self-employed
1% Disabled
1% More than 1 job
1% Attending school and working
1% Stay-at-home parent
0.4% Student part-time
0.2% Sabbatical
Q: Your annual household income?
13% Less than $20,000
12% $20,000 to $30,000
10% $30,000 to $40,000
10% $40,000 to $50,000
14% $50,000 to $65,000
9% $65,000 to $80,000
15% $80,000 to $100,000
15% More than $100,000
Neighbor with tree spurs saves the day
#VT – Lost cat postings are a staple on Front Porch Forum. It’s easy to forget how effective they can be in reuniting pets and families… and in helping neighbors connect and build community. From Jenna today on FPF in Essex Junction Village…
My cat went missing a several days ago, we figured either someone took him in or he got “lost” (read: eaten by fisher cat) in the woods beside our house. Thanks to Front Porch Forum and a kind neighbor’s posting that there was a cat in a tree, we found him. He remained scared and “trapped” for 2 nights – yesterday this kind neighbor used tree spurs to climb the 25-30 feet in the air to rescue Max.
It’s hard to explain in words how amazing this was – thank you for saving our Max. He’s very happy to be home and adjusting to “indoor only” status. My son especially thanks you as Max is his cat. He was devastated when we couldn’t find him.
Thanks again –
Max and family!
UPDATE: Now Patricia adds a dog story from the same Essex neighborhood on FPF…
I just want to say what a great neighborhood we live in, as Jenna (owner of the treed kitty) can attest.
Tonight, my recently adopted Cairn Terrier, Toto, made another escape from my home, and happily ran like the dickens straight to Maple Street with me in pursuit. Some wonderful neighbor whom I have never met, stopped his car at the corner of East & Maple, got out, and apprehended the little rascal for me.
Another neighbor, seeing me quite winded and struggling to carry Toto home, offered me a much appreciated ride home.
This is not the first time a kind neighbor has helped me out in this way, and I am so happy to be living here and happy to have Maple Street Front Porch Forum at our disposal. Thanks to all concerned!
Gratitude for local community in Central Vermont
#VT – Posted today on the East Montpelier FPF, where one-third of the town has joined in the five months since launching…
I read through the most recent issue of Front Porch Forum and could only feel gratitude for this community.
Thank you to the person who is offering chicks to people who lost theirs to the bears! Warms my heart to know we live in a community where this kind of thing happens.
Thank you to the people who so well articulated my mixed feelings about the elementary school facility project. I think that the public meeting tomorrow night should focus on some of the questions asked at the end of the letter on FPF not just the dollars and cents…
And thank you for all of the postings about dogs, bears, hummingbirds, town roads and more.
And welcome new members most of whom I do not know but feel that we at least have something in common – a good source of neighborly conversation and important information exchange.
UPDATE: And here’s another posting on the East Montpelier FPF…
I just want to say that I think FPF is fantastic. I have not caught on to Facebook (and have no urge to do so). This chatting between neighbors is wonderful.
The conversations that are currently taking place over the School Bond have been well written, informative, and respectful. Thanks.
Portland Press Herald looks at Vermont innovations
#BTV #VT – From Charles Lawton in yesterday’s Portland Press Herald…
… Two election cycles ago, Howard Dean introduced us to the financial aspect of this [e-government] revolution by showing how Internet-savvy political appeals could mobilize institutionally unconnected individuals into an effective donation and voting bloc.
Since then, Internet appeals and social media have become basic tools of political campaigns.
Another Vermont innovation — Front Porch Forum — has brought the same technological capability to what used to be the town meeting, the pancake breakfast and the church bean supper. It is a virtual meeting place for neighbors to share ideas on topics as mundane as a lost cat and as controversial as ATV trails and town charters. To judge by its glowing testimonials and rapid spread to towns across the Green Mountain state, it has been a great success.
Much is simply an expression of neighborliness — the loan of a sump pump, a reference to a native French speaker, thanks for a bigger-than-average turnout for church bingo.
But other testimonials speak to the forum’s value in building community — “I look forward to reading it every night. I’m not a Facebook fan but I LOVE Front Porch Forum.” And still other comments illustrate its value as a well-utilized source for varying but always respectful, never ranting, opinions on hot-button public issues.
In this last respect, the FPF represents e-government as a reflection not of a more efficient bureaucracy but of a more involved citizenry. And that is its greatest contribution and the one we ought to seek to promote here in Maine.
Neighbors pulling together to face illegal drug use on street
#BT #VT – Most Front Porch Forum postings are simple matters of locating a babysitter or lost dog, selling a bike, or hitching a ride to Boston. We get lots of bear/moose/skunk/etc. sightings too.
Increasingly people use FPF to tackle some of the tougher challenges faced by their communities… street crime, school and town budgets, disaster recovery… and currently in Burlington, illegal drug use…
Hello Neighbors – Over the last few months, everyone in our household and that of our downstairs neighbors’ (and landlord’s) had noticed certain vehicles consistently parking on the quiet side street next to our house, and just sitting there for a long time. Of course, this sort of thing makes you wary, but we had not seen or experienced anything overtly suspicious or criminal until yesterday, when I found two used needles and bloodied alcohol swabs discarded curbside, right next to our house…
Last night, after dark, a cherry red car with a loud muffler pulled up to the same spot and sat. Our downstairs neighbor noticed this, and after a few minutes walked out to have a look/be a presence. The car quickly pulled away, turned around and took off toward North Ave. Sure enough, another pair of used needles and dirty swabs were found on the street. We called the cops, and an officer was sent over to have a look; we described the vehicle to him, and he collected one of the syringes. His idea is that people are buying on North St and then pulling back into our relatively quiet, not-much-patrolled neighborhood to shoot up.
Needless to say, this is disturbing and disheartening, and we’re hoping to help bring a stop to it ASAP. Be aware of stopped vehicles lingering at the curbside in your neighborhood, and be very careful to watch out for discarded needles, especially for the sake of children in your area (“luckily”, the needles that we have found have bright orange plastic components and are easy to spot; also, the idiot users have been thoughtful enough to cap them before dumping). Obviously, direct confrontation is not encouraged, but notice patterns and take down license plates of repeat visitors. And, of course, be very careful and wear gloves when cleaning up after these losers (the cops will come to pick them up if you’re not comfortable doing it, but they do not want them as evidence unless they are still loaded).
Be careful out there, and teach your kids the same!
Vermontivate: Town vs. Town Throwdown
#VT – Front Porch Forum is a proud co-conspirator…
Vermontivate, an intertown energy conservation challenge, is launching Monday, May 14. Set to run until June 15, this frolicsome on-line/real-world competition infuses joy and creativity into the serious and important work of energy conservation.
Players will spend the month racking up points for everything from changing lightbulbs and starting compost piles to writing energy poetry for their town paper or hosting a candle-lit raw food potluck and knitting bee.
From newbies and neophiles to over-educated energy mavens, people at all levels of awareness and engagement are invited to play! Even people who don’t live in Vermont can sign up and play on behalf of their favorite Vermont town.
The winning community will receive the Grand Prize Award, a town-wide ice cream party from Ben and Jerry’s!
“Climate change is the most significant issue we face as a culture, and energy use is at the core of the problem,” says Vermontivate co-founder, artist and activist Kathryn Blume. “But,” Blume continues, “approaching it with fear and trepidation does nothing to inspire people to action. On the other hand, we believe we can kick the Culture of Solutions into high gear with a potent combination of innovation, competition, and a little old-fashioned bribery.”
“Agreed!” adds co-founder Nick Lange, a consultant at Vermont Energy Investment Corporation. “Humanity found a bunch of black goo in the ground and figured out how to make a civilization out of it. It’s been a great party, but we happen to have seriously compromised the health of the planet along the way. So it only makes sense that we can take our idea-factory brains and opposable thumbs and turn it all around! And we might as well have a good time doing it!”
The game begins with players signing up at Vermontivate.com and following a series of weekly “Jumplines,” which offer a host of different energy-related challenges. “We’re hoping,” says Blume, “to get everyone from town energy committee members to people who’ve never changed a lightbulb in their life. So, we’ve tiered our challenges into levels of Light Green, Medium Green, and Dark Green, so that anyone, at any level of knowledge or experience can participate and earn points for their town.”
Lange adds, “When people sign up, they can also join one of our Guilds, which are groups of like-minded players who can share information and ideas. If someone likes blogging or shooting video, they can be in the Town Criers Guild. If they’re more about writing energy limericks for their town paper, they can be in the Artists, Bards, and Troubadours Guild. People who like to give each other cupcakes as a reward for great work can be in the Boosters and Bakers Guild. We’ve really got something for everyone.”
Interested potential players can sign up at www.vermontivate.com.
More hits than from Google…
#VT – Gotta love it! Click local! From a new FPF advertiser today…
We are getting more hits to our website from Front Porch Forum than from Google at this point!
Learn more and contact FPF to get your ads running in Vermont.
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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