From FeverBee…
10 groups of 40 members is better than 1 group of 400
Smaller groups are more intimate. Participation rates are higher. Activity levels increase. Messages resonate through friends, not through your organisation. It’s less work with better results.
Front Porch Forum is a network of relatively small online neighborhood forums, and our experience matches Richard’s trend above… lots of small groups are better than one big one, at least when your aim is to help neighbors connect and build local community.
A community newspaper in Vermont recently raised concerns about Front Porch Forum to an entity that is supportive of our work. Here are some of the points made by the newspaper publisher…
… internet activities like the Front Porch Forum are direct competitors to community newspapers…
… subsidizing these forums and spreading their access is hastening the demise of [community newspapers]…
… you enable the neighborhoods to believe that news of their community is being covered by the siting of trash being dumped on the side of the road, or of a neighbor who attended a meeting and reported on the one item of real interest to them…
What happens with these types of forums is news is filtered out to the community by those with an agenda. School boards or planning commissions, for example, could designate a member of the board to write the report of the meeting and put it on the forum. The potential to have that report cover what the board wants and how it wants is huge, and it is not, in the end, in the public’s best interest in cases that may be controversial. (Given, that much of the news coming out of such meetings is not controversial and such reports could be unbiased and with no consequence.) But in cases that are controversial, how is the community best served if what happens is that Front Porch leads readers to believe they don’t need the local paper except on those few occasions of controversy. That is, they cancel their subscription and only buy it at the store on those weeks when a professional reporter comes to town to report important issues. That type of thinking, of course, hurts circulation and undermines the advertising base.
… activities like these are no small threats to community newspapers…
… you might reconsider how to carry on this part of your mission. Partnering with the local paper may be one way to do that.
Here’s my response…
Small town community newspapers are crucial to local civic health. And many of these newspapers face a dire future. This should be a big concern for anyone focused on local social capital and civic engagement. It’s one of the reasons I’m working on Front Porch Forum. You should be congratulated for your forward thinking in this area. I would be interested in seeing innovative proposals from community newspapers for new sustainable business models to support local journalism.
Front Porch Forum’s mission is to help neighbors connect and build community. Any sharing of news among neighbors is incidental… it’s one of many things that neighbors do when they have access to an easy communication channel. We don’t directly compete with newspapers, we help and complement them.
In fact, in Chittenden County, news stories bubble up out of neighborhood conversations on FPF. In dozens of cases, The Burlington Free Press, Seven Days, WCAX, VPR and others have used Front Porch Forum to get leads for their news stories. We’re happy to play this role (assuming proper attribution).
And forward thinking newspapers use FPF to attract more readers. For example, Seven Days has been running weekly messages on FPF about its stories drawing significant traffic to its website.
Further, many of our subscribers travel an arc from (1) getting direct results from postings (e.g., found lost cat, gave away a stroller), to (2) feeling more a part of their community due to these interactions and routine reading of neighbors’ postings, to (3) increased involvement in the civic life of their town (e.g., volunteering at Green Up Day, serving on a committee). This heightened sense of what’s going on in the neighborhood leads to people being more tuned into local issues… thus FPF helps nurture an environment loaded with more potential readers of the local newspaper. It’s up to the each newspaper to capitalize on this opportunity.
For example, in Burlington’s New North End, past monthly Neighborhood Planning Assembly meetings typically drew five or six people, in addition to the committee members. Once the committee started using FPF, attendance ballooned to 50 or 60. This wasn’t just because FPF was a better way to announce the meetings, rather it’s been the regular neighborhood-level discussions stirred up via FPF that have increase awareness and interest in local issues. So when the meeting is announced, many people are tuned in and caring enough to show up and participate.
We’d be thrilled if one of Burlington’s newspapers approached us with ideas for tying into this exciting development. Perhaps we could even work up a proposal and seek funding together.
The decline of the newspaper industry is closely tracked and widely discussed. Here’s one such recent piece that warrants careful reading.
Here are some other respected resources about the upheaval in the newspaper business…
Many factors contribute to the current status of the newspaper industry, including past business decisions, the current economy, volatile changes in the advertising world, the effect of the internet, participatory and decentralized journalism, etc… suffice to say, it’s complex and the sea change underway now has been a long time coming. It’s hard to imagine that supporting a small local civic-engagement dot.com experiment has much of a role in this larger, centuries-running drama of the American newspaper.
The newspaper publisher appears to have some misconceptions of how Front Porch Forum works. FPF is open to all residents of its service region, those with agendas (of any stripe) and those without. It’s a discussion among clearly identified nearby neighbors about topics of their choosing… like a block party with name tags. Newspapers, on the other hand, bring their own agenda, determine the topics, and limit who can speak.
While some FPF members may quit their local newspaper subscriptions, as he suggests, that’s not our intent. If that happens, I submit it has more to do with the readers’ perceived value of the newspaper than with FPF.
Finally, we’re humbled by the recognition and awards from the following organizations bestowed on Front Porch Forum for its cutting edge work in building social capital and civic engagement, including…
Thanks for the opportunity to comment on this subject and I’d be glad to continue the conversation with you, newspaper folks, or others. I have much to learn and remain openminded and flexible.
Thomas Hark, President of the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps, makes good and frequent use of Front Porch Forum in Richmond, where VYCC’s West Monitor Barn is located. Currently, there’s some interesting back and forth about a beef-cattle proposal. Good points all around, but what really caught my attention was Thomas’ remark…
Front Porch Forum is a fantastic tool to share these sorts of concerns, ideas, and more… whether we agree, disagree, or simply are not sure. I am grateful to have such a communication tool available.
Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility is pulling together another dynamite conference this spring… On the Long Trail: Sustaining Success… May 5, 2009, at the Hilton Hotel on Battery Street in Burlington.
I’m thrilled to be leading a session with a great panel. We aim to draw a knowledgeable and questioning crowd to assure a lively discussion. Register here.
Weathering the Recession: New Tools for Vermont Businesses
Amy Kirschner, Vermont Sustainable Exchange
Jesse McDougall, Chelsea Green Publishing
Glenn McRae, Intervale Center’s Food Hub Program
Linda Rossi, Vermont Small Business Development Center
moderator: Michael Wood-Lewis, Front Porch Forum
The economic downturn sweeping the globe is not sparing the Vermont business sector. However, small and micro businesses in Vermont are far from powerless in the face of this recession. An emerging crop of new tools, many of them internet-based and developed by Vermonters, are providing new ways to cut costs, generate revenue, form partnerships, raise capital and weather these tight times. You’ll hear about services that match workers and jobs, buyers and sellers, and barter partners; give away unwanted inventory; raise capital; and more. Join the discussion, and take away concepts and tips for keeping up and getting ahead.
We’re seeing more garden-related postings on Front Porch Forum this spring than in past years. The economy? The Obamas’ example? The localvore movement?
For example, Kristen posted this note yesterday on the FPF Hinesburg Village Neighborhood Forum…
Seeking kitchen garden space
Thinking abou skipping putting in a garden this year? I’m looking for a prepared garden space and will trade keeping it well tended and some vegetables for getting to use it for the season. I’m tidy, quiet and experienced. I’d prefer a spot in the Village or on the east side of Town, but am open to other locations. Let me know if you have a site and would be interested in working out an arrangement. Thanks!
And already this morning she has two responses from nearby rural neighbors…
From Bill…
Hey Kristen – I’m actually planning to put in a small veggie garden on my property this year and could use some help if you’re interested. I’ve been a perennials-only gardener to date so this will be a new experience for me. I need to prep the area “from scratch” but I’ve got a great spot with beautiful southern exposure. It’s probably a mile from town and an easy hop on a bike if you don’t want to get in the car. Let me know if you’d like to check it out.
From Diane…
Hi Kristen, I am going to have a small garden where my veg. garden usually is but I am also going to plant a salad garden off my deck. That way it is closer to the house. I am willing to have more of the veg. garden tilled. So if you want to look at the space email me back. Thanks.
Amy posted a note on Front Porch Forum seeking donations yesterday in Burlington’s South End. Today she followed up with this…
Thanks so much for your generous response to my request for household goods for Bethan, the young mother in need. We had a great time yesterday driving around picking things up from all you kind folks. It was like being Santa in reverse. Then we set her up in her new apartment and voila, a functional home. I know this request came on no notice. It’s great to know a neighborhood can rally for a good cause so quickly. On behalf of Bethan and her baby, thank you all.
Bill’s not letting the economy — or a bear attack — get him down (as posted to his Hinesburg neighbors on Front Porch Forum today)…
Bear Market finally hits Baldwin Rd
Delighted with the Budd and Schubart bird delis and their cornucopia of curious feeding devices, a hungry black bear, out for a Saturday evening ramble on the old French Farm, made short work of the feeders and poles, leaving a scattered array of mangled metal and plastic on the deck and front lawn of each residence and making a great deal of noise. Great fun.
Bill@Schubart.com
http://www.Schubart.com
Thanks to host Jonathan Butler who interviewed me on his new radio show “The Browser” on The Radiator… fun times. We discussed Front Porch Forum, Facebook, Craigslist, local online and more. Click here to listen.
UPDATE: From Jonathan today on FPF’s Neighborhood Volunteers Forum…
I am a Volunteer at the Radiator 105.9fm, BTV’s community-access public radio station, where I host a weekly program called ‘the browser’. The program is all about “the people who bring the world wide web to BTV & VT”. My guest this week was Michael Wood-Lewis of Front Porch Forum. You can hear the interview here: http://thebrowser1059.wordpress.com
The success of the FPF is a multi-angle story and I’m sure I’ll host future discussions or interviews about the Forum. If you have any suggestions for guests/topics (related to the Forum or other), please feel free to drop me an email. I can’t use the Radio to overtly and actively promote the Forum, but it is a great story that could merit additional coverage in the future.
Online classifieds are a dime a dozen… but many of these services are failing lately. As reported on Local Onliner…
Jay Schauer, a friend who runs Ad2Ad.com, … complains that “people seem to assume that classified advertising is an easy business to understand and enter. It’s not. It’s a business that demands fierce commitment to localization, understanding the nature of the small local advertiser, and a commitment to small, individual sales.”
Schauer notes that it is “hard ground for start-ups driven by dreams of an IPO. In the past year I’ve seen three competitors drown. Two others are careening toward the treacherous shoals…
“What those failing groups seem to have lacked is the desire to get down and get real with the individual advertiser who will actually pay for classifieds. That customer is not rich, not sophisticated, not interested in pretty, elegant or cool.”
He goes on to note that “the bulk of classified advertisers live in small towns and tight neighborhoods. They don’t build social networks. They are typically the salt of the earth — and hence of little interest to VCs. This customer wants RESULTS FAST. They want to get information to their neighbors — who are also their customers. Most important, they will pay a reasonable price to do so.”
“Classifieds are not pretty,” says Schauer. “But the economic engine they support is large and remains robust. More important, the neighbor-to-neighbor business interaction is core to the strength of the greater economy and to our political well-being.”
While Front Porch Forum is more about neighborhood conversation than classified ads, many of the postings are, essentially, classified ads shared among clearly identified nearby neighbors. And FPF postings often out perform classified ads on Craigslist and other platforms. In fact, a member just posted this on FPF in Burlington’s Old North End…
Hi Neighbors, In my recent posting offering to sell several items (coffee table, accordion, shelves, etc.) I received way more response then I ever expected! I sold/gave the items to those offers which landed in my inbox first. I apologize to all those who I did not respond back to… if you did not hear back from me, the items are gone! Many thanks.
Lorna-Kay in Burlington’s New North End is using Front Porch Forum to call her nearby neighbors to action.
Dear Neighbors – Our neighborhood is suffering very badly from the effects of winter debris and scattered litter. Are you a civic minded resident of the New North End who would like to join me in a pre-spring clean up? We could work collaboratively or individually to make our neighborhood cleaner and neater. I will have bags and gloves for volunteers.
About 50 households in close proximity to her received this posting. How else could she accomplish this? Flyer door to door? Posters on utility poles? Start a Facebook group or neighborhood blog?
And when these folks do gather, bags in gloved hands, they’ll chat about the other postings they’ve been sharing on FPF… proposed development projects, recent local elections, the lost pet bunny that showed up on someone’s front stoop. This will further draw people into local involvement and getting to know their neighbors.
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