Category Archives: Social Media

Stove Proceeds go to Neighborhood Forum

Posted on Friday, November 20, 2009 by 1 comment

Jeannette in Huntington posts on FPF today…

Hello Neighbors, We have a seven year old “Frigidaire” brand gas cooking range for sale. White. Excellent condition. Oven takes 1 to 2 hours to heat up to temp. You will need to arrange pick-up. $50…all proceeds from sale will go to Front Porch Forum.

Thanks Jeannette!

Traditional Media Covers FPF Member Appeal

Posted on Sunday, November 1, 2009 by 2 comments

Dan McLean wrote a solid piece about Front Porch Forum‘s first membership appeal for today’s Burlington Free Press.  Here’s the letter we sent to our local subscribers and the page where anyone can become an FPF supporting member.

Social media venues such as Front Porch Forum, which are offered as free services to the public, are not spared the fiscal realties of business. Revenues must exceed expenses… Founded in 2006 after operating informally under a different name for several years, Front Porch Forum is being forced to adapt, Wood-Lewis said. “As we grow, our business model is evolving,” Wood-Lewis wrote to the forum’s 16,000 “subscribers” in kicking off the “first annual member appeal”…

“We are grateful for our local business partners and their support of our community-building mission,” he wrote. “Their ads cover many of our expenses, but not all.”

While the Free Press did find a “social media expert” to offer criticism of FPF, they regrettably didn’t print comments on the matter from any of the thousands of local folks who use it daily.  I’ll cull some of those messages out of the neighborhood conversations to share in the next blog post.

UPDATE: This just in…

I disagree with the comment attributed to Joe Mescher in the article published on November 1st that FP forums “be shared more widely on the Internet instead of keeping the contents confined to each neighborhood.” The beauty of such “confinement” is knowing the information has relevance to me and my close neighbors. I occasionally submit information to my neighbors regarding actions of the Lake Iroquois Association – actions that matter to those near the lake and not necessarily to the residents of other areas or the Internet world at large. To remove such “confinement” just means everyone’s mailbox fills up with unwanted stuff – just another blog or tweet – stuff that I merely trash. The value of something like FPF becomes lost. I’m will support FPF financially and I strongly encourage others to do the same.

Keep up the great work, Michael.

Roger Crouse, President
Lake Iroquois Association

Do you value FPF? Become a supporting member!

Posted on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 by 3 comments

Where do you turn when your car is broken into? Or when you need to borrow a stroller, find a reliable mechanic, sell your couch, or track down your AWOL dog? Increasingly in Chittenden and Grand Isle Counties, people turn to their nearby neighbors through Front Porch Forum (FPF).

After just three years of FPF’s service, 16,000 local households are participating. We publish in 140 neighborhoods across 25 towns in northwest Vermont… week in and week out. Local residents have posted 75,000 messages to their neighbors through FPF.

Our small band of committed staff are working day and night to keep this all going. We’re grateful for our local business partners and their support of our community-building mission. Their ads cover many of our expenses, but not all. If you enjoy and value Front Porch Forum, please become a supporting member today. WE NEED YOUR HELP NOW to maintain, improve and expand FPF. Please go to this web link to make your contribution via credit card, PayPal or check:

http://frontporchforum.com/about/donate.php

Considering that the local newspaper costs $15/month and a daily coffee drink can exceed $60/month, what is FPF worth to you? To your community?

It’s our privilege to offer our community-building service — a Vermont original — to so many people. We want to build on the success that you have made of FPF. As we grow, our business model is evolving to include this, our first annual member appeal. We have high hopes that FPF users like you will each contribute $12, $24 or $36 right now — or choose to make an automatic monthly contribution. Any amount is welcome and will make a difference. Please become an FPF supporting member here (credit card, PayPal or check):

http://frontporchforum.com/about/donate.php

Or send a check, payable to:
Front Porch Forum
PO Box 64781
Burlington, VT 05406-4781
802-540-0069
(FPF is not a charity and contributions are not tax deductible.)

Your contribution is critical to keeping FPF going strong — and will be enormously appreciated. We look forward to serving you and your neighbors in the coming year.

Your FPF team,
Michael, Nina, Linda and Jamie

Email ain’t dead (WSJ, you lunkhead)

Posted on Monday, October 12, 2009 by No comments yet

Andy Schroepfer at Rackspace wrote recently about the future of email vs. social media, texting, etc.  Some, like today’s nutty Wall Street Journal article, declare the demise and coming death of email.  Oh, puh-lease.  And we all have paper-less offices, and radio disappeared the day after TV arrived, and the U.S. Postal Service is closing up shop tomorrow.  We definitely have a rapidly evolving communication and media landscape, but seldom do the stalwarts just disappear.

In fact, email dominates the field over the likes of Twitter, FaceBook, texting, RSS, etc.  Email is the default.  That’s why Front Porch Forum uses it as a primary distribution path… we’re trying to reach EVERYONE in a local community, not just one clique or another.  Anyway… here’s an interesting bit of data from Forrester Research…

Social Change 2.0

Posted on Friday, September 25, 2009 by No comments yet

I had the pleasure of introducing David Gershon’s work to Portland, Oregon more than a dozen years ago.  So Mike Lindberg’s quote about David’s new book caught my eye…

Social Change 2.0 exhilarates. David Gershon has not just laid out a compelling and coherent blueprint for social change, but the vividly written stories he shares make us realize that what we thought was impossible can actually be achieved. Having been a political leader in Portland for twenty years, where I worked closely with David, I saw firsthand the power of his work to change the lives of thousands of people. He may well be the number one expert on social change in our country.”
– Mike Lindberg, former Commissioner of Public Utilities and city council member, City of Portland, Oregon

David’s work has some interesting parallels to Front Porch Forum.  I look forward to reading it.  (Buy the book here.)

Reaching beyond social media’s “Big Three”

Posted on Tuesday, September 15, 2009 by No comments yet

Inman News columnist Gahlord Dewald posted a piece today aimed at real estate professionals about how they might make the most of social media tools.  This clip caught my eye…

… If you expand beyond the “Big Three” social media platforms of Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, you might find very specific platforms that align with your goals. For example, in Burlington, Vt., we have an awesome forum system called Front Porch Forum. This platform is highly targeted by neighborhood and operates via (wait for it …) e-mail.

Not what you might think of when you think super-new-cool technology. But FPF is a highly valued resource in our town. About 40 percent of the local population are members (and this is a college town). The neighbors talk about the neighborhood. Pretty relevant for a real estate professional.

Spending the time to locate active social media platforms that are topic-focused — to round out your me-focused Facebook-LinkedIn-Twitter participation — is a good idea…