Online Civility —
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 [...]
Feedback from Front Porch Forum subscribers is overwhelmingly positive. So today’s complaint submitted by a member in Burlington’s Old North End got my attention…
Every day it seems as though Front Porch Forum, well all of us that subscribe, continue to become more and more like the “Rant & Rave” section of craigslist - as a [...]
Occasionally Front Porch Forum is criticized for hosting moderated online forums. The critics worry about freedom of speech… giving every hothead unlimited space to vent seems to be some kind of gold standard.
While I recognize the immense value that our Bill of Rights grants us, especially freedom of speech, I also feel that the [...]
The ONE Central Neighborhood Forum in Burlington’s Old North End has been carrying on several in depth conversations lately. One focuses on neighborhood cats… trade-offs of indoor vs. outdoor cats and related issues. I’ve been impressed by how civil, constructive and caring the dozens of postings have been. A great use of [...]
I’ve been reading several postings about Google’s first Local Symposium that they hosted at their HQ the other day. Here’s one.
A friend just shared this bit from NPR by Google Vice President Vint Cerf (thanks Nancy).
Once, I was being driven by limo to a hotel in Palm Springs to give a speech. The driver appeared to be in his 60s, and I remember thinking, “How sad that he has to keep working at this menial [...]