Category Archives: social capital

Found in Brandon: lost cat and person to mow

Posted on Thursday, April 28, 2016 by No comments yet

“I posted on Friday with two requests… got someone to mow right off, and, as of today, have my lost cat back… both thanks to Front Porch Forum and some wonderful people on Carver St.”
• Judy, Brandon FPF

Husky vs. porcupine in Waterbury

Posted on Thursday, April 28, 2016 by 1 comment

“Or dog Sarah is back. Many thanks to everyone who kept an eye out for her, and to Joel and Dale who took her to the hospital for the quills. I love that we have moved to a community with Front Porch Forum and caring neighbors. Thank you, everyone.”
• Laura, Waterbury FPF

Northfield appetite for ping pong tables unsated still

Posted on Thursday, April 28, 2016 by No comments yet

“The ping pong table has been spoken for, with a waiting list if the first person doesn’t take it as planned! Thanks Front Porch Forum!”
• Denise, Northfield FPF

Click local! When will “local first” arrive on digital shores?

Posted on Monday, April 11, 2016 by No comments yet

I couldn’t agree more with former Vermonter, Dan Gillmor’s recent piece…

Journalists: Stop complaining about Facebook, and do something about it

Dan focuses on Facebook’s growing dominance as a news distributor…

How should we respond? From my perspective, two primary schools of thought have emerged. One is to embrace that dominance, albeit with some unease, and fully participate in Facebook’s ecosystem. Another is to persuade Facebook to take seriously its growing responsibility to help get quality journalism in front of as many people as possible.

Both of those approaches assume that Facebook is too big, too powerful to resist that we have no alternative but to capitulate to its dominance. But if that is true, the consequences will be disastrous. We will be living in the ecosystem of a company that has repeatedly demonstrated its untrustworthiness, an enterprise that would become the primary newsstand for journalism and would be free to pick the winners via special deals with media people and tweaks of its opaque algorithms. If this is the future, we are truly screwed.

I say: no. Let’s not give up so easily. Instead, let’s resist and find a way out of this trap… (click to read the full article)

And… to add to Dan’s call… let’s go beyond journalism.  Let’s click local for retail, for discussion, for classifieds, for reviews, for sports, for entertainment, for networking and more.  Many communities have local efforts underway, and they struggle to capture people’s attention as so many of us habitually scroll through our Facebook feeds, go to Amazon, Yelp, etc.  Why not try local efforts?  While the internet and mobile devices still hold the promise of decentralization of power, we now know that the digital juggernaut is also acting as a giant concentrator of wealth into a small number of pockets.  Thousands of local taxi companies replaced by Uber and Lyft.  Thousands of local bookstores replaced by Amazon.

To quote Dan one more time…

I say: no. Let’s not give up so easily. Instead, let’s resist and find a way out of this trap.

Digital replacement for “To Kill a Mockingbird” front porch in Roxbury

Posted on Sunday, April 10, 2016 by No comments yet

“Hello all – Where in the world is Linda T.? Am I dreaming that I saw something on FPF that she is doing alterations again? I was a regular customer over the years, but then she took in the shingle. Linda… are you out there? From a short guy whose pants are always too long!”
• Norm, Northfield Front Porch Forum

“Hi all, Well, with the help of many people who contacted me, I found Linda! From the very bottom of my hemmed pants, I want to thank you all for your help. Though the literal front porch, a la To Kill a Mockingbird, is no longer extant, it’s great that we can have this digital replacement. I always pull up a smile when I see people sitting and jawing on the Roxbury Country Store front porch, regardless of what the may be talking about. I hope it’s not me! Living history.”
• Norm, Northfield FPF, next day

Little cork cottage in Monkton

Posted on Friday, April 8, 2016 by No comments yet

“If anyone has a collection of corks that they no longer need or want, I would be happy to take them off your hands 🙂 I am making my daughter a cork board and would prefer to scavenge around for them, rather than buy them from Amazon or a chain store. Thanks!”
• Linda, Monkton FPF

“I received SO MANY responses to my request for corks that I could build myself a little cork cottage. There were offers of bags, drawerfuls, cartons, several years worth, 10 years worth, 40 years worth… Thanks to everyone for being so responsive. And thanks to the people that keep Front Porch Forum going. It’s a great community resource that allows us to meet and support each other in all kinds of interesting ways.”
• Linda, Monkton FPF, next day