Category Archives: social capital
Challenging Conventional Web 2.0 Wisdom
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
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.
Financial blow softened for those who’ve invested in community
Millions of middle class Americans are watching their savings shrink dramatically in the Wall Street debacle unfolding before us. Much is being written and said about it all… lots to digest.
But one angle I’ve not come across yet is the strategy that a small but growing number of people are employing… to invest more personal resources into building community, even at the sacrifice of their short-term savings. Put another way… to shift financial capital into social capital.
When hard times come, having plenty of cash helps, of course. But so does having a strong community. Having a network of close local friends, living in a supportive neighborhood, being part of a stable town with good schools… all of these “assets” can help cover real needs.
Front Porch Forum is in this business. It helps people invest in community and realize genuine gain from it… economic, social, emotional, and more. More later…
Information + Communication + Civic Engagement = ??
Keith Harris in the United Kingdom writes today that “What’s missing is communication, not information” on his blog Neighbourhoods. Some of his points…
This is very definitely work in progress but maybe the argument is something like this:
- for various reasons there is a crisis of local social connections which causes evident damage
- examples of local communication (post-its on windscreens, notes on lamp-posts, message graffiti and so on) point to the inadequacies of existing communication channels, especially in contexts of high mobility and the erosion of local life
- online networks can augment (not replace) other channels of communication and stimulate more interaction (I never understood why this should ever have been in doubt)
- we need to find out what research has been done and where the gaps are, showcase good practice and clarify the lessons. This will help the system-builders, and then
- we have to go to to the housing movement and local government with incontestible arguments that this stuff works and should be developed. Might that do it?
This reminds me of some of the conversation that the Knight Foundation has been sparking through its various efforts. Knight is pushing easily accessible information at the local level as a needed element to sustain our democracy in the United States. Hear, hear! But others, including me, have pushed to have civic engagement be part of that mission as well. And here’s Keith telling us that communication trumps information.
I think we need all three to feed our democracy… an engaged citizenry that can communicate with each other and develop, access and share information. I’m thrilled that Front Porch Forum is on the cutting edge of all this.
FPF nominated for award
I just learned that all the great activity surging through Front Porch Forum is being recognized by the Rural Telecom Congress as a finalist for its RTC Champion Awards! The final selection will be decided at the Rural TeleCon 2008 conference at Smugglers’ Notch, VT on October 8, 2008. It’s a great honor to be included with several wonderful projects on the short list of finalists. Thank you RTC!
NOTE: If you plan to attend the RTC, please sit in on my sessions and please vote for Front Porch Forum! 😉
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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