Vermont | Ghost of Midnight

WCVR interview with Front Porch Forum

Posted on Wednesday, August 7, 2019 by Front Porch Forum • No comments yet

Listen to WCRV‘s short interview with FPF’s co-founder, Michael Wood-Lewis, airing this Thurs., Aug. 8 at 8:12 a.m. on 100.1 FM and 1320 AM.

To stream the interview on Thurs., Aug. 8 click here.

Visit Front Porch Forum for the latest and greatest news and announcements!

Kindness among strangers

Posted on Friday, July 19, 2019 by Front Porch Forum • No comments yet

Even when the world feels chaotic and life gets tough, goodness can be found in kindness among strangers. One Front Porch Forum member recently shared a story about finding help and reassurance in an unexpected way.

A Vermont resident of only one year was on her way to her last cleaning account of the day. The MapQuest directions suggested a route across a narrow and chopped-up road. When rocks hit the undercarriage of the car and fears of a gas leak forced her to pull over, the distress added up. A truck driver stopped to assist and made sure the car was not leaking gas.

“You offered to call AAA for me as well. But since the car seemed fine, you went on your way. I made it to my clients house, then dropped my car off at my mechanic just in case, and made it home safely tonight. Now that my fears have settled a bit, I find myself feeling so thankful that you were there whoever you are. I wish I could say thank you to you personally. I was so caught up in my distress and tears that I didn’t thank you while you were there but I am feeling so grateful because you were an angel to me. I hope this reaches you. Thank you for your kindness and light heartedness. It made a world of difference.” • Ro F., Montpelier, Vt.

CCTV in-depth look at FPF, now airing

Posted on Wednesday, July 17, 2019 by Front Porch Forum • No comments yet

CCTV Executive Director, Lauren-Glenn Davitian, is joined by Front Porch Forum co-founder Michael Wood-Lewis in a new interview that takes a closer look at FPF. Find out more about the business’s mission, behind-the-scenes insights, expansion into upstate New York, and more!

You can watch this program on Channel 17/ Town Meeting Television, on Comcast Cable and Burlington Telecom at the following times:

1 Tuesday July 16, 6:30 PM
2 Wednesday July 17, 6:00 AM
3 Wednesday July 17, 12:00 PM
4 Monday July 22, 2:30 PM

You can also watch the program here:

Vermont Country Stores Reach Customers via Front Porch Forum

Posted on Tuesday, July 9, 2019 by Michael • No comments yet

From Anne Wallace Allen in VTDigger yesterday…

Jack Garvin, longtime manager of the Warren Store in the Mad River Valley, which sells gifts, housewares, craft beer and other items, said that like every store, his has a group of regulars who meet every morning for coffee. Apart from participating in a huge range of events, Garvin finds it helpful to advertise on Front Porch Forum (FPF), the online bulletin board.

“Regardless of how loyal your customers are and they love the idea of having a country store in their town when it comes to bottom line and looking at your wallet and looking at your disposable income, they’ll by and large go to the better deals,” Garvin said. But he added he can see through FPF analytics that his ads reach people outside the Mad River Valley.

“We don’t know how that translates into people walking in the door, but people are paying attention,” he said.

Fighting Online Bullying

Posted on Tuesday, July 9, 2019 by Michael • No comments yet

From Micah Sifry in Civicist 1st Post today

Katy Steinmetz reports for Time magazine on how Instagram is trying to use AI to reduce how much the platform is used for cyberbullying, but as she notes, “it’s much easier to recognize when someone in a photo is not wearing pants than it is to recognize the broad array of behavior that might be considered bullying.” Oh, and the person in charge of this whole effort, Adam Mosseri, previously was in charge of the development of Facebook NewsFeed, so this should inspire confidence. (How does your AI read sarcasm, he asked.)

One problem with Steinmetz’s article is that she accepts the frame of all the blitzscaled platforms, which is that connecting the entire world online requires massively open platforms, unfortunately creating massive toxic effects. But cyberbullying isn’t, as Steinmetz writes, “a problem that crops up anywhere the people congregate online.” It’s a problem that crops up wherever a platform has been optimized for engagement over any other value, and where there is limited to no human moderation. For example, a user of Front Porch Forum in Vermont, where each instance is centered on a neighborhood of roughly 1000 households and a paid part-time moderator helps keep the conversation civil, does not experience cyberbullying, as a recent study found.

Help More Vermonters Benefit from FPF… Mobile App on the Way!

Posted on Monday, April 29, 2019 by Michael • No comments yet

Did you know that nearly one-third of low-income Americans don’t have a broadband-connected computer and can only access the internet by mobile phone?

FPF is committed to making it easy for all Vermonters to participate in their local Front Porch Forum. We’re building a mobile app to make FPF even more inclusive. We need to raise $30,000 by next Tuesday to accomplish this. Please help today:
https://frontporchforum.com/supporting-members

More than 160,000 Vermonters participate on their local FPF daily. With your help, even more will be able to join the conversation.

Please contribute $200, $100, $50, $27 or any amount. Credit card, PayPal or check: https://frontporchforum.com/supporting-members

Front Porch Forum
PO Box 64781
Burlington, VT 05406-4781

FPF is a Vermont business, with a staff of 18, that serves every community in the state. We are not a charity and contributions are not tax deductible. Most of our expenses are covered by ad sales to Vermont businesses, and your Supporting Member contribution helps close the gap. Thank you!

UPDATE: We surpassed our funding goal by our deadline! Thanks so much to the many FPF Supporting Members who chipped in. Stay tuned for news about the FPF mobile app launch coming soon!

Montpelier lost-and-found story on WDEV

Posted on Thursday, March 21, 2019 by Front Porch Forum • No comments yet

A story of lost-and-found ended happily when Gary of Montpelier posted on Front Porch Forum looking for his lost car keys. A fast response from Gary’s neighbor not only led to the recovery of his car keys, but also to a face-to-face meeting with his neighbor, Jay, who he hadn’t met before.

Front Porch Forum’s co-founder, Michael Wood-Lewis, joined the Dave Gram Show on WDEV on Dec. 24, 2018to talk about how FPF serves towns across the state. Listen to Michael, Gary and Dave discuss the story and how Front Porch Forum has helped more than 160,000 households across the state of Vermont.

Front Porch Forum featured at SXSW next week!

Posted on Thursday, March 7, 2019 by Front Porch Forum • No comments yet

Are you headed to South by Southwest 2019 in Austin? Be sure to attend this session…

FrontPorchForum: Social Impact Thru Connecting Neighbors
March 13, 2019; 2-3 PM
JW Marriott, Salon D

Michael Wood-Lewis, Front Porch Forum
Tom Walsham, TWG

More than 75% of households in most Vermont towns use FrontPorchForum.com to communicate among neighbors and increase civic engagement. Operating since 2006, this locally owned social network has successfully helped neighbors connect and build community by rejecting the Silicon Valley addiction-and-surveillance business model. In this session, we will discuss the challenges of increasing impact while maintaining civility, implications of a sustainable neighbor model, and how the dynamics on FPF might inform better real-world dialogue.

Seating is limited to 500, so don’t be late!