Category Archives: social capital

Easy communication among neighbors a right?

Posted on Wednesday, November 19, 2008 by • No comments yet

John Wonderlich at Sunlight Foundation quotes Steven Clift today…

When I was a child and my father had cancer, I remember neighbors coming to our assistance in our time of need. Today, with modern life keeping neighbors as strangers, we must use these new tools to break down barriers to community. You deserve the right to easily e-mail your immediate neighbors the morning after you’ve been burglarized without having to go door-to-door to collect e-mail addresses. We can balance safety and privacy with selective public disclosure of such personal contact information with an intelligent “unlisted to most” directory option that is not the all or nothing of today.

This is big “C” community and small “d” democracy. A collection of better-connected blocks, tied to broader neighborhood and community-wide online efforts will serve as the vibrant foundation we need for accountable and effective representative democracy right up to the Congress and president. You cannot force everyone to be neighborly, but the bonds of community can be restored and nurtured despite dual income families and the assault on time for community involvement.

Right on.  We’re honored that they both mention Front Porch Forum.  And thanks to The Pulse from the Knight Foundation for pointing me to this post.

Online tools to help local communities

Posted on Saturday, November 15, 2008 by • No comments yet

Matt, on the LocalMouth blog, writes recently…

Personally, I think there’s great potential for simple online tools to bring local communities more closely together. It may be a struggle at the start to get together a critical mass of neighbours, and it may need a liberal dash of coaxing, but once you’ve got the ball rolling, people’s natural desire to communicate with others should take care of the rest. Good stuff will happen. ‘Good’ won’t always mean that people get along well or that arguments won’t take place. Far from it. When people are talking about stuff that matters, conversations are bound to get heated at times, and that’s where the delicate job of moderation comes in. But generally, I think, more communication between local people can be a very positive thing.

Right on!  He goes on to list several UK websites that each focus in a different way on their local community… and Front Porch Forum.

I look forward to checking out the local sites he mentions.  Thanks Matt!

Election season swamping FPF…

Posted on Monday, November 3, 2008 by • No comments yet

I, for one, am looking forward to November 5… that’s right, the day AFTER the big election.  Front Porch Forum has been swamped with postings from citizens and elected officials alike… advocating for and against candidates and ballot measures.  The State Rep. race in Chittenden 3-04, the police station building site in South Burlington and on and on.

And I know I’m not alone.  Many of our subscribers love the political back and forth, while others are clearly fed up and ready to move on.  I got a lovely note today from an FPF member in South Burlington that was a pleasant surprise…

The other day, I decided to resist posting my emotional response to [a City Councilor’s] posting re. a police station on the Calkins Natural Area.  I was very angry, feeling that [he] misused a position of power to promote something that is very politically controversial.  I had considered using the FPF in the same way and decided that my neighborhood forum is a “place” for me to share and gather information on topics or issues that relate to our neighborhood and it isn’t a “place” for me to lobby my neighbors for one position or another. (Even though, our neighborhood probably has the most to lose on this specific topic.)  And… since [his] posting is out there, I may very well post my position, too.

Anyway, I want to say thank you for your commitment to FPF and what it provides all of us.  It is almost impossible in this era, to build a sense of “neighborliness”.  I’ve lived in my neighborhood for over 14 years and the FPF has introduced me to neighbors I would otherwise never know.

Sometimes, when we have responsibility for providing or “facilitating” a service and we have negative reactions to the facilitation, we wonder if it’s appreciated.  I want to tell you, it is.

Thank you for facilitating our ability to being good neighbors.

Don’t forget to vote on November 4!

Neighbors step up for lost puppy

Posted on Thursday, October 30, 2008 by • No comments yet

I was glad to read on an FPF neighborhood forum in Burlington’s New North End that woman who had found a lost puppy had found the owners.  Good news!

I did get a lot of responses offering help [from my Front Porch Forum posting].  Many people offered to take the dog in until the owner was found, others offered to help put up notices in the neighborhood and others gave support by offering food and such to help me while I looked for the owner. Using the front porch forum really brought the community together for a small little dog, that I truly fell in love with in just over 24 hours.  Thanks.

It’s a little thing… one tiny lost pup… but this kind of event, played out over and over starts to make a real change in a neighborhood… starts to enhance the sense of community, build the lines of communication, show what’s possible.

Making good neighborhoods better

Posted on Friday, October 24, 2008 by • No comments yet

Sometimes I wonder if Front Porch Forum’s service is a good fit for a neighborhood that is already tight-knit… if everyone already seems to know one another, why would they need FPF?  So the comment from Becky today regarding her neighborhood in South Burlington, VT, was especially appreciated…

I know I speak for many in our neighborhood when I say that your service has brought us closer as a community. We do have a special place here… and we can now communicate through your great site.

Knight News Challenge 2009!

Posted on Friday, October 17, 2008 by • No comments yet

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation is opening up the third round of its News Challenge.

We’re giving away around $5 million in 2009 for the development and distribution of neighborhood and community-focused projects, services, and programs.

If you have a great idea that will improve local online news, deepen community engagement, bring Web 2.0 tools to local neighborhoods, develop publishing platforms and standards to support local conversations or innovate how we visualize, experience or interact with information, we’d like to see it! You have the opportunity to win funding for your project and support within a vibrant community of media, tech, and community-oriented people who want to improve the world.

Knight News Challenge

Deadline Nov. 1, 2008.  The good folks at Knight have a hand in so many great projects that it’s tough to keep track.  We’ll be submitting an application to take Front Porch Forum to the next level… the two paragraphs above describe FPF to a tee.  We were honored previously this year to be involved in a couple Knight initiatives.

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Challenging Conventional Web 2.0 Wisdom

Posted on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 by • 1 comment

A friend jokingly refers to Front Porch Forum as the “anti-internet” and he got me thinking.  I ended up with the chart below comparing conventional wisdom for much of “Web 2.0” vs. FPF.

FYI, Front Porch Forum hosts networks of online neighborhood forums that blanket metro areas.  In our Chittenden County, VT, pilot, 11,000 households subscribe, including one-third of Burlington.  People connect with neighbors and build community through the exchange of postings among clearly identified nearby neighbors.

So, Peter Kafka got me thinking more with his post on Silicon Alley Insider the other day, in particular this gem…

It’s counterintuitive, but during an up cycle people accept conventional wisdom, and during a down cycle people challenge it. That’s good. Very good. And the cycle will winnow competition.

Well… an upside to our economic crisis!  A year ago during good times a few Web 2.0 experts took a look at Front Porch Forum and each, in his way, told us that we needed to get in line and look more like the left column above.  And just in the past week I’ve heard from some folks in the same crowd and they’re showing up with open minds and probing questions.

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.

Tonic for Welsh Corgi puppy fever

Posted on Thursday, October 2, 2008 by • No comments yet

Alicia wrote today from Burlington, VT…

My daughters and I had Welsh Corgi puppy fever and decided to wait until fall to find one.  Imagine my delight and surprise when a Corgi puppy showed up on our neighborhood Front Porch Forum the weekend before school started.  If we had designed our own a wanted poster he couldn’t have fit our family better.  He has been a delight.  It isn’t too much to say that Front Porch Forum changed our lives.  As an added bonus, everyone saw the posting, so he became the neighborhood’s Corgi and joined our family as a local celebrity garnering lots of well wishes!

She went on to share that she used FPF to find her lost keys (dropped when walking the new puppy) and she got four flute loan offers when her daughter’s instrument broke the day before middle school started.  This was all recent.  It’s no wonder she says…

It isn’t too much to say that Front Porch Forum changed our lives.

A new puppy in the family, found keys, salvaged music class, and more and deeper connection to neighbors and community… not bad for a month’s work.  While this is an above-average experience for our 11,000 local subscribers, it’s not unusual.

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!

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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