Online Civility —
The people of Westford, VT continue to do amazing things with Front Porch Forum… lots of voices weighing in about lots of topics. Here’s a comment about one topic gleaned from a blog today…
Principals like feedback, right? Well, we need feedback but it can be difficult to deal with at times. I’ve been thinking a [...]
Ultimately, Front Porch Forum’s biggest impact is the one-two punch of increasing people’s social capital and civic engagement. Put another way, once FPF catches hold in an area, the folks who live there become more connected with neighbors and more involved in their community. Indeed, one survey found 93% of FPF members reporting increased civic [...]
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 [...]
Matt Thompson posted on his blog today…
I’ve been parroting Kevin Kelly’s “1,000 true fans” model so much recently that I forget how many people still haven’t heard it…
BTW: This principle dovetails nicely with Caterina Fake’s philosophy that you build a real community by greeting each early user at the door. Among the most essential skills [...]
Growing up in the Midwest in the 1960s and 70s, I frequently heard that one simply did NOT talk about religion or politics. I somehow combined this etiquette demand with the admonition that I was not to say swear words either. Needless to say, this approach left me confused… “but how are you supposed to [...]
Matt, on the LocalMouth blog, writes recently…
Personally, I think there’s great potential for simple online tools to bring local communities more closely together. It may be a struggle at the start to get together a critical mass of neighbours, and it may need a liberal dash of coaxing, but once you’ve got the ball rolling, [...]
I, for one, am looking forward to November 5… that’s right, the day AFTER the big election. Front Porch Forum has been swamped with postings from citizens and elected officials alike… advocating for and against candidates and ballot measures. The State Rep. race in Chittenden 3-04, the police station building site in South Burlington and [...]
We love to see neighbors “hitting singles” daily on Front Porch Forum… finding babysitters, selling bikes, connecting about car break-ins and so much more. And the weekly “doubles and triples” smacked out of the infield are a joy too… e.g., several folks using FPF to organize a couple weeks of meals in support of [...]
Steven Clift offers an interesting post about neighborhood-level online efforts, including Front Porch Forum. We’re looking forward to participating in a May 7 session he’s convening in Washington, DC, at the Case Foundation.
Vermont is working to become the first “e-State” with availability of broadband internet and cell phone coverage across 100% of the state… by 2010. The “100% of the state” bit is ambitious and lots of people, organizations are businesses and contributing toward the realization of this goal.
The State of Vermont justifies this ambition saying [...]