Social Media | Ghost of Midnight

Vermont Flood-Relief Guides

Posted on Saturday, September 3, 2011 by Michael • No comments yet

#VT – Seek assistance, offer help, get the facts. Try these websites for Hurricane Irene recovery resources:

VTDigger.com: http://bit.ly/opyKoS

#VTResponse: http://bit.ly/n130pD

Seven Days: http://bit.ly/noTigC

Google-VTrans Road Conditions Map: http://bit.ly/qEKdgl

Call 511 for #VT Road Closures (do NOT call 211 for this info)

Posted on Monday, August 29, 2011 by Michael • No comments yet

From Vermont Emergency Management today…

Floodwaters have receded, but most rivers and streams remain above normal levels, and some are still dangerous in many areas. Vermont officials recommend staying away from rivers that are still high and flowing rapidly. You should stay out of all floodwaters because of pollutants or debris.

Motorists are still encouraged to stay off roadways as many are unsafe and what roads are open are needed by emergency responders, road crews, and utility crews.

Road closures are still too numerous to list. Please call 511 or visit www.511vt.com for updated road closures. The public is asked to NOT call 211 for road closures ““ those calls are hampering 211’s ability to help those who need shelter or other resources.

State Police also ask that you only call 911 if you have an emergency.

Before returning to your flooded home, you must have a licensed electrician inspect your electrical system. Wet wiring can cause electrocution.

Hurricane Irene hits #VT… and then there’s Justin Bieber

Posted on Sunday, August 28, 2011 by Michael • No comments yet

Boil water notices (Bristol), road updates (St. Albans), offers of help (Moretown), and many other postings are coursing through Front Porch Forum tonight as Vermonters deal with the impact of Hurricane Irene… neighbors helping neighbors. The American Red Cross and several municipalities are reaching local folks through FPF as well (see emergency shelter posting below).

Then there’s the truly important stuff, e.g., from Lauren tonight in Burlington’s Old North End…

Dear neighbors – I have a life-size Justin Bieber cardboard cut-out that I’m willing to part with for free. This amazing piece of pop culture ephemera can be yours, or your 10-year-old daughter’s or son’s, with just a quick couple of keystrokes. This gem would also be perfect in the living room in a college house, right next to the beer pong table. Don’t delay; act now.

From the American Red Cross…

Hurricane Irene – Emergency Shelter Information

The first of 9 American Red Cross shelters in Vermont opened last evening in Brattleboro, sheltering 17 residents from a local senior housing complex. An additional 20 residents from another Brattleboro Housing Authority location are expected to arrive at the Brattleboro shelter this morning. The balance of the Red Cross shelters opened this morning at 9am.

In addition to the 9 shelters being operated by the Vermont & the New Hampshire Valley American Red Cross, logistical support in the form of cots and blankets have been requested by 6 additional communities. Those supplies were provided yesterday or are currently on route.

The 9 Red Cross shelters are located at the following locations:

Brattleboro, VT – Brattleboro Union High School – Fairground Road

Bennington, VT – Mt. Anthony Union Middle School – 747 East Road

Springfield, VT – Springfield High School – 303 South Street

Hartford, VT – Hartford High School – 37 Highland Avenue

Rutland, VT – Rutland High School – 22 Stratton Road

Barre, VT – Barre Auditorium

St. Johnsbury, VT – The St. Johnsbury School – 257 Western Avenue

St. Albans, VT – St. Albans Town Education Center – 169 South Main Street

Enosburg Falls, VT – Enosburg Falls High School, 65 Dickenson Avenue.

In addition to Red Cross-operated shelters, a number of communities have opened shelters on their own. By calling Vermont 211, folks can find out about shelters in their area.

As the storm’s impact becomes further defined, an assessment will be made as to resources that need to be shifted to different locations or consolidated in shelter locations that are experiencing the greatest demand.

These shelters are part of a network of over 300 locations across the region with whom the Vermont & the New Hampshire Valley American Red Cross has agreements for potential use during times of disaster. At the shelters opened today, the Red Cross will have the capacity to shelter and feed those that may be displaced by the storm.

Grandparents find lifejackets and good neighbors #VT

Posted on Saturday, August 20, 2011 by Michael • No comments yet

Just posted on FPF…

Hello Neighbors: Thanks to everyone who responded to our request to borrow kid-sized pfd’s for our grandkids’ visit later this month. We’ve found what we needed!

Bristol is such a great town and Front Porch Forum is a wonderful to connect with neighbors. Thanks again!

New York Times link to Vermont? #VT #NYT

Posted on Tuesday, August 16, 2011 by Michael • No comments yet

Apparently not even the New York Times knew one of their two co-founders hailed from Vermont! Posted by Bob Isherwood on Front Porch Forum today…

George Jones, born 200 years ago on this date in Poultney, Vt. was a co-founder of the New York Times. Jones was noted for his honesty, which he, in part, attributed to his Welsh upbringing, especially tested when he, as publisher in the 1870’s, help to bring to light the corruptness of “Boss” Tweed.

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/?scp=1-spot&sq=city%20room&st=cse

This e-Vermont Front Porch Forum “social media special” is provided with thanks to David W. Dunlap of The New York Times. The New York Times of 2011 is in the forefront of the debate/discussion of how a traditional daily newspaper stays relevant in today’s online, immediate access to news reality.

Police and Fire Dept. won’t take the job? Neighbors to the rescue!

Posted on Monday, August 15, 2011 by Michael • 4 comments

Surprised that local #VT police, fire, and animal rescue officials would not respond to her plight, Teresa turned to her Cambridge neighbors for help. From The Scribe’s Tablet…

John Dunn & Linda Collins did not hesitate to come to the rescue this evening, after reading a neighbor’s request for assistance on Front Porch Forum.

“The response was outstanding,” says Teresa Bobel Mazzarese, who had used the Forum earlier in the day to reach out for ideas and assistance. A cat had become stranded in a tree, in her backyard, at least 60 feet up.

John and Linda are experienced rock climbers. Clearly, they are kindhearted neighbors as well. They arrived on the scene around 7 pm. The rescue effort lasted until 8:30. John climbed the tree, thoughtfully calculating every stage of the climb. He then patiently allowed time for the cat to accept him once he had reached her. Meanwhile, Linda secured a pet carrier to the lead for John to hoist up when ready.

Upon returning safely to the ground, an hour and a half later, John humbly pointed out that it was simply a matter of adapting his rock climbing technique to new circumstances. Surely this was no small feat…

A moment of awe, rather than words. Teresa summed it up perfectly as the mission came to a close: “Heroes,” she concluded, “This is evidence that Front Porch Forum works. It is proof that it brings the community together.”

Digital Devices in Public Meetings… Good or Bad?

Posted on Saturday, August 6, 2011 by Michael • No comments yet

Andrew Nemethy covers a controversy in Essex, Vermont, for VTdigger this week. In part…

A laptop is what got Essex Town selectboard member Bruce Post in trouble last May, revealing a cultural/digital divide that took several weeks to work out in this bustling town of 20,000 in northern Vermont.

… he didn’t think twice when he brought his laptop to a selectboard work session and then took it into the actual meeting that followed to take more notes.

But that prompted an onlooker to question the propriety of having the laptop open during the meeting, and in a “point of order” discussion, Board Chairwoman Linda Myers ruled that using the laptop violated board rules on digital devices though in fact the rule only applied to handheld devices.

Take a look at the comments to Andrew’s piece. He goes on…

… five members of the Burlington City Council now “live tweet” when the city council meets (fully a third of the council), says Ed Adrian, a Democrat who represents Ward I.

“I think people have been really supportive for the most part,” says Adrian, who works as an attorney with the Vermont Secretary of State’s office. With people having busy lives, tweets are a way for him to inform his constituents, most of whom can’t make it to evening meetings.

He says the biggest digital impact on city government in Burlington, though, is the use of the social media/email newsletter, Front Porch Forum.

“By far that’s the most important media tool I use,” he says…

Founded by Michael Wood-Lewis and his wife Valerie in Burlington in 2006, it now is available in more than 60 Vermont towns… and 28,000 members, says Wood-Lewis.

He has definitely seen an increase in local officials using FPF to communicate, noting there are now more than 450 members counted as local officials, and probably a lot more who don’t list their official titles. He guesses perhaps half of the forums now feature postings of meeting agendas and town announcements sort of a virtual country store poster wall.

While services like Twitter and FPF are clearly beneficial in passing along town information, they raise some gray areas. During a vibrant discussion last mud season on FPF about rough road conditions in the town of Calais, selectboard members wondered whether to get involved in responding, and whether if they did, they were speaking for the town or themselves?

Wood-Lewis says FPF is good for distributing information and for asking questions or prompting discussion but thinks “it’s not ideal for trying to resolve challenging local issues, ” which should be done in face-to-face meetings.

Connecting Vermont Neighbors

Posted on Friday, July 15, 2011 by Michael • 1 comment

Published recently on BroadbandVT.org #VT…

Thanks to the e-Vermont initiative, 28 more towns now benefit from FrontPorchForum.com, the online service that helps neighbors connect, build community and support local businesses. FPF members tell the story best:

“Thanks FPF for helping to find my missing bicycle lock, meet my neighbors, barter my roof rack carrier for some freshly smoked salmon, find a lost glove, learn more about local politics, and provide a soapbox for whenever I feel the need. I think it’s one of the best things to happen in our town in a long time.”
– John McMurry.

This award-winning Vermont start-up business now serves 60 towns in the state and 27,000 households participate. More than 750 members are engaged in daily community conversation in Bristol, for example (out of 1,500 households in town). In Middlesex, more than 500 neighbors (out of 700 households in town) share almost 200 postings per month. In Middletown Springs, 130 residents signed up for FPF in the first few months (out of about 300 households in town).

And now FPF is expanding to even more Vermont towns. Recently, the local selectboard brought FPF to Johnson and 200 residents have signed up already… and they’ve shared 100 postings in the past month. Next up is St. Albans City, thanks to expansion partner Franklin County Caring Communities.

To bring FPF’s results to your town, contact Michael Wood-Lewis or Jeff Gangemi at 802-540-0069 or FrontPorchForum.com

Community response to dog attack in #BTV #VT

Posted on Thursday, July 14, 2011 by Michael • No comments yet

Public officials use Front PorchForum because they get good results. It’s where a growing number of local leaders turn to connect with their constituents. Today, an FPF member in Burlington posted…

Thanks to all of you who responded to my FPF post a couple weeks back about the dog attacks on North St. I appreciate your concern and all of your suggestions. Before I got a chance to report the incidents to the police, I received an email from a Community Service Officer of the Burlington Police Department. He saw my post on Front Porch Forum and wanted to know more about the attacks. I have to say I was somewhat floored by the email.

Connecting with constituents using social media #BTV #VT

Posted on Sunday, July 3, 2011 by Michael • 5 comments

Tyler Machado covered the local Social Media Day for Seven Days recently. Congratulations to the many professional communicators recognized for their use of social media. In part…

The day’s schedule included a fun panel discussion about how politicians use social media, with two politico Tweeters Burlington City Councilor Ed Adrian and State Rep./possible-mayoral-hopeful Jason Lorber and blogger-turned-State Senator Philip Baruth. Although Adrian’s a frequent Twitter user he’s been known to spar with fellow Tweeting city councilor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak at the same time they’re presumably debating in real life at council meetings he said that the social network that he finds most useful to connect with his constituents is actually neighborhood email service Front Porch Forum.

Councilor Adrian is not alone. About 400 local public officials across 60 Vermont towns use FPF to connect with their constituents. Unlike some social media, FPF reaches far beyond the usual suspects. E.g., more than half of Burlington households participate in their FPF neighborhood forums, so elected leaders can reach a broad swath of the tax payers.

UPDATE: Terri Hallenbeck weighed in too on her vt.Buzz blog.

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