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Seven Days

Letter to the Editor

I was glad to see Seven Days' coverage of a Front Porch Forum discussion about neighborhood drug dealing. However, the title of your article ["Moderator Shuts Down Online Debate on ONE Drug Use," July 16] mischaracterized the situation. We were not squelching community dialogue about this important issue -- just the opposite.

Front Porch Forum exists to encourage and facilitate this kind of communication. I took the highly unusual step of suspending a single topic on one of our 130 neighborhood forums for two weeks in an attempt to let tempers cool and to reclaim a civil and inclusive tone. Allowing a neighborhood forum to devolve into an online shouting match among a tiny minority of subscribers drives people away and serves no one's long-term interest.

In fact, we're encouraged by the results in this case. Where previously there was little talk about drug dealing, now there's loads of it, among hundreds of neighbors, city councilors, police and others. Media is reporting on this important issue. Public meetings are in the works. Front Porch Forum was a starting point and a catalyst for this positive activity.

So I respectfully offer an alternative headline: "Neighbors Use Front Porch Forum to Ignite Drug Dealing Discussion."

Michael Wood-Lewis
BURLINGTON
Wood-Lewis is the co-founder of FrontPorchForum.com.

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Moderator Shuts Down Online Debate on ONE Drug Use*

Seven Days

The moderator of the popular Front Porch Forum shut down an online discussion of drug use and crime in the Old North End last week when residents began hurling verbal insults at each other.

Michael Wood-Lewis, founder and moderator of Front Porch Forum, said it was the third time in the forum's eight-year history that he's had to step in and cut off discussion of a specific issue. The others revolved around "dog poop" disputes between cat and dog lovers, and over the historic preservation of slate roofs.

"When the public well becomes poisoned," Wood-Lewis said, "it's hard to get it back on track."

Photo credit: Andy Duback, Seven Days

Complaints about drug use in an area around Murray Street, which runs between Barnes Elementary School and St. Joseph's, a Catholic school, started about three weeks ago. But the spirited debate, on the Old North End Central forum, turned personal after one resident posted a video of himself confronting people whom he believes are dealing and using drugs. At one point in the video, the two sides get into a physical confrontation.

Some forum members responded by saying the resident provoked the fight. Others defended his actions, saying he videotaped the activity out of frustration with the lack of police response to alleged drug dealing in the area.

Wood-Lewis said a handful of residents have quit the forum over the discussion. About 650 households have signed up to participate in the Old North End Central forum, one of about 130 forums throughout Chittenden County that have attracted about 10,000 users.

"This space is about creating a space for everybody to listen in and weigh in," Wood-Lewis said. "Some people who are part of these forums tell us they feel isolated in their neighborhood, and this is one way for them to feel connected. They are not interested in Front Porch Forum helping them to lose that connection again."

Meanwhile, residents involved in the vigorous debate want to bring the discussion offline and into the real world. Sarah Judd, the development director at Burlington College, said she is trying to organize a meeting of FPF members to talk about crime in the Old North End.

Judd said she hopes to bring together landlords, residents, police, business owners and members of the local immigrant community by month's end or in early August.

"People may not agree with how he's going about exhibiting his frustration in terms of dealers and drug use," Judd said, referring to the resident who videotaped the alleged drug users. "But nevertheless, it's an example of collective frustration over what seems to be an increase, at least in visibility . . . of drug use and dealing in drugs."

Whatever the merits of the complaints, some city officials have been watching the FPF discussion closely. Burlington Police Lt. Emmet Helrich said he subscribes to the Old North End forum and tries to follow up on concerns about police apathy. Helrich said when staff levels allow, police patrol the Murray Street area, near the intersection with North Street, on foot.

"If it's late at night, we don't come in with our lights on and V-8s roaring," he said.

City Councilor Clarence Davis (P-Ward 3), whose district includes parts of the Old North End, said he met with Burlington Police Chief Michael Schirling last week to discuss growing concerns about drug use in the area.

"People are talking about it more," Davis said. "So the reality and the perception of increased crime are converging."

Wood-Lewis said that, while he regrets the tenor of the online conversation, he's "thrilled" that residents might come together to discuss the underlying issue. As for re-resuming it online, Wood-Lewis said he plans to wait a couple weeks.

"Then," he said, "we'll see where it goes."

*See Michael's take on this matter at Ghost of Midnight blog and his letter to the editor.

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Front Porch Forum Creates 'Online Block Parties'

Burlington Free Press

-- Know your neighbors --

Michael and Valerie Wood-Lewis moved to Burlington from Washington, D.C., 10 years ago for its sense of community. They didn't know at the time they would be instrumental in enhancing the very quality they sought.

The community bonds were created and strengthened by computer, in the digital neighborhood called the Front Porch Forum (www.frontporchforum.com), started by the Wood-Lewises.

"We were spurred by the desire to get to know our neighbors," Michael Wood-Lewis, 42, said. "We were really eager to get to know people. We didn't have a dog to walk."

Photo credit: Alison Redlich, Free Press

The Front Porch Forum is a place where neighbors can communicate and connect through e-mail newsletters. It's easy to join and requires nothing more than access to e-mail to read or write a message.

The couple started the forum in the Burlington neighborhood where they live, Five Sisters, in 2000. "It was just a little hobby," Wood-Lewis said.

The e-mail forum was a way to connect with neighbors and keep up with what was going on in his community. The Wood-Lewises didn't want to arrive home from a day's outing, as they did years ago, to find neighbors cleaning up a barbecue they never knew about.

The Five Sisters forum was successful, and in 2006, Wood-Lewis decided to expand the forum, embarking on the undertaking as a full-time commitment. He calls the home he shares with his wife and four children, ages 8 to 2, "world headquarters" of the Front Porch Forum.

There are now 130 neighborhood forums in Chittenden County and 10,000 subscribers to the free service, Wood-Lewis said. Each forum -- and there's one covering every neighborhood in Chittenden County -- represents a small and discreet slice of the community, an area delineated and named by Wood-Lewis.

On the forum's e-mail postings, neighbors who are identifiable by name and street address post information or questions on a range of issues. The combined forums generate about 2,000 messages a month, Wood-Lewis said. The topics, whether a missing cat or a hazardous cross-walk, are typically bound by the interests and parameters of the neighborhood.

"I think of these as online block parties," Wood-Lewis said. "For us, it's almost more important that there's communication going on, than the topic."

A Richmond forum, in recent days, has been alive with conversation about a flash flood, Wood-Lewis said. In the Old North End, there's been discussion about how to help someone who has a drug habit. People in the East Woods neighborhood are using the forum to organize a summer party, he said.

Each neighborhood forum encompasses about 400 (potential) households, with participation varying throughout the county. In Burlington, one-third of the households subscribe to their local forums. (The Five Sisters forum is saturated, with 107 percentage participation; some families have more than one subscriber.)

On average, about 20 percent of county residents participate, Wood-Lewis said.

"What we're trying to do is catch people where they are (computers) and get just a little smidgen of their time," he said.

He said that over time, people get to know more and more neighbors -- acquaintances or friendships that originate on the Front Porch Forum.

"With all those messages from clearly identified nearby neighbors passing through your inbox, change starts to happen," Wood-Lewis said. "I don't live among neighbors; I live among people I know. Things start to come together."

The Front Porch Forum has received national recognition for its work, including grants from the Middlebury-based Orton Family Foundation and the Case Foundation. Both organizations are interested in and support efforts related to community-building and civic engagement. Orton selected the Forum for its 2007 Innovator in Place award.

David Mindich, professor of journalism and mass communication at St. Michael's College, said the Front Porch Forum is an "excellent medium" for getting out information.

"I would suspect that most people who are members of the Front Porch Forum get as much news about their neighborhood there, if not more, as they get in the Free Press," Mindich said.

He noted a distinction between the way the two mediums function, one that concerns "hard-hitting journalism" that can hold leaders accountable.

"It's a great addition to the community," Mindich said. "I certainly hope 10 years from now, as the Front Porch Forum continues to flourish, we still have a vibrant, independent journalism in the state as well, with a business model that pays reporters to dig and hold officials' feet to the fire."

The Forum's success can be measured not just by a growing number of subscribers, but by advertising sales.

Six months ago, the Front Porch Forum started selling ads that run at the bottom of the e-mails. It also sells subscriptions for $99 a month to Burlington municipal departments, allowing for two-way communication between residents and police officers and other city departments -- with public officials a click away from citizens' concerns.

Every message that's posted on Front Porch Forum is monitored and given a headline; subscribers at a glance can see what information follows.

Of the 30,000 or so messages that have been sent to the forum, Wood-Lewis has declined to post about a dozen because of tone or content, he estimated. These are sent back with a request that they're rewritten.

"People behave themselves," he said. "Each neighborhood has to think of this as their forum."

Contact Sally Pollak at spollak@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com or 660-1859.

Common messages among neighbors
- Car break-in last night on Maple Street
- Seeking post-hole digger to borrow
- Lost dog!
- Organizing block party
- Roofer recommended
- Neighbor running cancer fundraiser
- Traffic concerns... speeders!
- Baby sitter available
- Seeking meals for ailing neighbor
- Owl sighting

How to sign up for Front Porch Forum
- Any resident of Chittenden County can join; it's free and won't clog your inbox
- Go to: http://frontporchforum.com and click Join
- For news and information about FPF, check out its blog: http://frontporchforum.com/blog

Tips for neighborhood engagement
- Encourage friends, neighbors, co-workers and others to sign up at http://frontporchforum.com
- Post brief messages frequently: It's all about getting a conversation rolling
- Use your FPF neighborhood forum to organize a block party, group yard sale or other event

Source: Michael Wood-Lewis, co-founder/owner of Front Porch Forum

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Technology and the Future of Community Information Flow

Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy

[Click title above for video clip.]

Front Porch Forum Helps Neighbors Connect and Build Community
A Critical Initial Step toward Informed Civic Engagement

Recently, a 14-year-old girl asked her mom for a birthday canoe outing with friends. A $200 rental fee almost led to cancellation. Then mom realized that canoes were tucked behind many of her neighbors' sheds, and, if she only knew these neighbors, then she could ask to borrow them. Alas, like many Americans circa 2008, she did not know most of her neighbors.

Undaunted, the mother turned to a unique online service called Front Porch Forum to post a request. Shortly she had more offers of free canoe loans from nearby neighbors than she could use! She remarked "not only did my daughter have a great birthday and I saved a couple hundred dollars, but now I have a genuine connection to a half-dozen neighbors. Why didn't I know these good people years ago?"

This citizen just took an important step toward becoming more engaged in her community… and she opened the door to local connectedness for her daughter, six of her neighbors, and dozens more who partake in her online neighborhood forum and witnessed this exchange.

Award-winning Front Porch Forum (FPF) is in the business of helping neighbors connect and build community. FPF hosts 130 neighborhood forums covering all of Chittenden County, Vermont, including the one in the story above. Nearly 10,000 households subscribe, including one-third of the City of Burlington. Different versions of the canoe story have played out thousands of times in the year-and-a-half since FPF's launch (see http://frontporchforum.com).

People use the service in hundreds of ways, including to share an owl sighting, find a babysitter, help an elder live at home, find lost keys, report a home break-in, debate a road project, recommend a plumber, discuss ballot items leading up to Town Meeting Day, and lots more.

All of this is done with clearly identified nearby neighbors, so that over time a familiarity accumulates and people feel more connected. That's when the conversation and action moves from the virtual to the actual front porch.

This online tool enhances and catalyzes real world relationships and civic engagement. A recent survey found 64% of respondents have gotten involved in events or public meetings due to Front Porch Forum, while 60% believe it makes local government more responsive. A remarkable 93% feel that simply reading Front Porch Forum has increased their local civic engagement.

Many people crave community connection and want to make a positive difference. Front Porch Forum connects these folks and presents opportunities to pull together… whether its helping a family after their home burns, getting a school budget passed, organizing a political rally, or, simply, helping a girl's birthday wish come true with a flotilla of neighborhood canoes.

In addition to thousands of residents, hundreds of local public officials, businesses and micro-enterprises, volunteers, and others actively use Front Porch Forum too.

Presenter Bio
Michael Wood-Lewis is President and co-founder of Burlington, Vermont-based Front Porch Forum. This new service hosts 130 online neighborhood forums covering Chittenden County. Nearly 10,000 households subscribe, including more than 30% of Burlington. Michael has earned local and national recognition for this work, including a "community innovator of the year" distinction from the Orton Family Foundation and a Make It Your Own award from the Case Foundation.

Prior to this experience, Michael led a 25-employee New England environmental service provider, growing it into a national model. And before his time in Vermont, Michael worked for two Washington, DC think tanks, Public Technology, Inc. and the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, both focused on combining new technologies and local resources to address local challenges.

Michael was raised in Indiana and earned an MBA and MS in engineering from the University of Illinois. Perhaps the most meaningful accolade came in 2005 when Michael was named a Vermont father of the year. He and his wife (and FPF co-founder), Valerie, and their four young children live in Burlington, VT.

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Front Porch Forum Wins Case Foundation Award

Burlington Telecom e-Newsletter

Congratulations to the Front Porch Forum for their recent Case Foundation "Make It Your Own" award. Twenty-five percent of the 15,000 voters cast a ballot for Front Porch Forum and they finished 6th in the voting. This was especially remarkable given the small population base (projects in major metro-areas claimed the top five spots) and that this began several months ago with 5,000 entrants.

Of the award, Case Foundation notes: "Contrary to research that showed a decline in civic health and increasing social isolation, we saw that people want to connect with their neighbors, identify shared concerns, make their own decisions, and shape their own course of action."

Michael Wood-Lewis from Front Porch Forum

The Mark Johnson Show

By Mark Johnson
2008-06-04

A 40-minute radio interview.

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Front Porch Forum Receives National Recognition

Smart Growth Vermont

Front Porch Forum, an online resource that helps neighbors connect and foster community, recently placed sixth out of almost 5,000 entrants in the Make it Your Own Awards Program, a Case Foundation Initiative. The placement has entitled the Forum to a $10,000 grant, which will be used for software development. Congratulations!

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Front Porch Forum

The Mark Johnson Show

By Mark Johnson
2008-06-04

WDEV Radio: The Mark Johnson Show, with Michael Wood-Lewis about Front Porch Forum. 45 minutes.

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Front Porch Forum Recognized Nationally

WCAX Channel 3 News

By Rachael Morrow
2008-06-03

Burlington, Vermont - An online community forum based in Chittenden County beat out thousands of others in a nationwide contest to take home a big prize.

The Front Porch Forum serves about 9,000 households in the Burlington area. Residents can go online and post comments about crime, items for sale and other issues facing their community. The website recently took sixth place in a nationwide competition that used new tools for community development. Burlington beat out major cities like Chicago and Philadelphia to win a 10,000 dollar grant.

"A citizen centered democracy was their idea, so projects that brought citizens in to identify problems and then help them with those problems, and that's what front porch forum does, creates a place for people to come together and work on issues," said Organizer Michael Wood-Lewis.

Organizers say they plan to use the grant money to update the software on their site, and expand access to the rest of the state.

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Fulfilling Our E-State Potential

Snelling Center for Government

By CCTV Channel 17
2008-05-29

Snelling Center for Government: "Fulfilling our E-stae potential: Building community in a connected age. Keynote address by Lewis Feldstein. 1:45. Front Porch Forum portion about half-way in (10-minute talk) and in the Q&A at the end.

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The Front Porch Forum: Hyperlocal Media

National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation

There's an interesting model of neighborhood-based social networking evolving in Vermont called the Front Porch Forum. I was recently struck by its connection to broad, national concern about the loss of local news coverage. But before I go further, I have to confess some skepticism about the recent sense of malaise around the media. Here's why:

Just about everywhere you turn, you are bound to read omphaloskeptic writing about the sufferance of media - its consolidation, how it is biased, how there has been a turn from the local, and certainly the absence of an "alternative" voice. At its finest, some have even called Viacom-produced shows like the "Colbert Report" "independent" news sources. This all plays up the general state of disarray and incoherence out there - but not, at least to me, a state of crisis. And perhaps part of the equation lies in some of the unique qualities of a state like Vermont: small, northern, rural, inconsequential, largely and often overlooked. Perhaps this has allowed something other than the dominant narratives to play out among our bonny green hills.

One of those is the healthy ecology of small town newspapers. Right here in the northern piedmont we have more than a dozen local papers serving a disbursed population of roughly 70,000. Which are all complemented by the circulation of the larger area papers - the Times Argus, Burlington Free Press as well as out of state ones, including the Boston Globe and the New York Times.

So why the health of so many local papers?

Part of it has to do with the interest of local stories - believe it or not, papers keep us in touch with each other - and the other with utility - what we can find of value tucked into those pages, everything from fuel to festivals, trail guides to trash hauling.

And this is exactly why new home-based start-ups like the Front Porch Forum founded by Michael Wood-Lewis and his family work in a place like Vermont: not only is the basic technology in place, but so are some of the "old school" habits of community. People consider in natural to ask for help and to provide it. To make use of others' second hand goods and to share theirs. To gather informally for dinners, dances and games. To care for one another. Not that these impulses don't exist elsewhere: its what makes life worth living. But perhaps in a world of disappearing sidewalks, isolated neighborhoods, disbursed shopping "centers," and busy schedules its just a little harder to make it happen.

Perhaps tools like the Front Porch Forum can also help to re-connect the fabric of community life as well.

Different from anonymous boards like Craigslist and broader than specialized lists like FreeCycle, the Front Porch Forum is a neighborhood based, email-driven social utility that helps people in geographic neighborhoods to connect with one another and share resources - whether it is time and attention, a hot meal, or a specific skill.

Emerging online spaces like the Front Porch Forum offer their members many common utilities - blogging, calendars, announcement lists, profile pages etc - but it is the connection to people with whom one feels both a natural and a real bond, a certain "bound upness" or shared fate that makes them compelling. So when someone several houses away posts an alert about a missing cat, there's a relevance. If another can't make a delivery of a hot meal to a house-bound parent a few doors down, its easy for someone else to fill to void. Need reliable childcare for an afternoon? It could be four houses down - with local references.

And its not just neighbors who find value in this kind of online setting for exchange. Word is, local politicians like to hang out there to hear local issues play out in resident exchanges. Newspaper reporters like to get access to the local angle when issues are discussed. While I haven't heard of any big scoops, I am certain that initiatives like the Oregonian's recent work on race and other dialogue-oriented forms of journalism would find welcome participants and readers.

Front Porch Forum is up for a Case Foundation Make It Your Own award - I hope you'll check it out and consider throwing in a vote!

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Vote for Front Porch Forum

Blurt: Seven Days Staff Blog

Everyone's favorite neighborhood email newsletter service is up for an award — Burlington-based Front Porch Forum is one of 20 finalists for a Make It Your Own Award from the Case Foundation. The foundation is trying to encourage people to "come together to create a vision and work toward the common good."

You might have heard tireless FPF founder Michael Wood-Lewis talking about this on VPR the other day. Or you may have come across this video about FPF, produced by the local cable access channels.

If FPF wins, Wood-Lewis gets a $25,000 grant to spend on upgrading his neighbor-to-neighbor service. He's already getting 10 grand for being one of 5000 applicants to crack the top 20.

So who's choosing the winners? You are.

Go to the Case Foundation website and cast your vote for your four favorite projects. The top four vote getters get 25 grand. Do it soon — voting ends April 22. That's next Tuesday.

Click here if you're having trouble with the ballot.

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Exchanging Local News: from Colonial Taverns to Email Networks

Planning Commissioners Journal: PlannersWeb

By Wayne Senville
2008-04-17

Neighborhoods have long been a cornerstone to community life in America. But there have been some striking changes in how we keep abreast of local news and participate in neighborhood life.

Historians have documented the central role that taverns and coffee houses have long played as places for people to exchange news and information.

Sociologist Ray Oldenburg has also highlighted the valuable service that these and other "third places," as he calls them, have performed in knitting together communities and integrating newcomers and immigrants into their new place of residence. Here's some of what Oldenburg had to say in an article we published in 1997:

"Americans long enjoyed third places in the form of the inns and ordinaries of colonial society, then as the saloons and general stores springing up with westward expansion. Later came the candy stores, soda fountains, coffee shops, diners, etc. which, along with the local post office, were conveniently located and provided the social anchors of community life.

... Third places also serve as "ports of entry" for visitors and newcomers to the neighborhood where directions and other information can easily be obtained. For new residents, they provide a means of getting acquainted quickly and learning where things are and how the neighborhood works."

In many neighborhoods, you'll still find these kind of gathering stops, sometimes taverns, sometimes grocery or convenience stores, sometimes a donut shop, and sometimes even the laundromat.

For years, a common sight outside many of these places was the message board, where neighbors left word about a missing dog, a yard sale, an apartment to rent, a community meeting ... and where candidates for city council, alderman, school board, or mayor placed their campaign posters.

But fast forward to 2008. Email is how we often "talk." Many bemoan this, feeling it has weakened civic life and resulted in a loss of connection within our neighborhoods. And, yes, count me among those who've made such claims.

Yet something quite remarkable has emerged over the past two years here in Burlington and Chittenden County, Vermont. A locally-developed email-based message service, called Front Porch Forum, has established itself as a key way for residents to keep in touch with neighborhood concerns, and to post announcements, notices, offers of help, requests for help ... and also debate local political issues.

Valerie and Michael Wood-Lewis started up the precursor to today's Front Porch Forum (FPF) in their own small "Five Sisters" neighborhood six years ago. Their mission was and remains: "to help neighbors connect and foster community within the neighborhood."

Launched citywide just two years ago, FPF has exploded in popularity. Remarkably, more than 30 percent of Burlington (pop. 39,000) households subscribe to FPF. This means that there's a critical mass of users. Front Porch has become the "place" people think of first when looking to find out what's happening in their neighborhood, or post an announcement.

Front Porch Forum is successful in part because it's so simple to use. Just type your message and email it to FPF. They reformat and distribute it as part of a grouping of messages (one or more times each week, depending on the level of activity in the particular neighborhood).

It's important to realize that there are many Front Porch Forums, since each neighborhood has its own FPF email list. However, city departments and local officials can post messages in multiple neighborhoods when an issue is of citywide (or ward-wide) interest.

Here's a screen shot of the message summary portion of a Front Porch Forum email for my "ONE East" neighborhood to give you a flavor for how it works. As you can see we're sometimes dealing with student noise and behavior issues! After the summaries, you'll get the full message/posting (not visible in the screen shot). I usually receive two or three Front Porch emails each week. They're easy to quickly scan and read.

While you can learn more by visiting the Front Porch Forum web site, I did ask Michael Wood-Lewis a couple of questions:

Wayne: What sort of questions get asked on the Front Porch forums? Has the networking that Front Porch forum enables led to any local actions that might be of particular interest to planners or planning commissioners?

Michael: Front Porch Forum is used frequently by residents to announce, discuss and organize for or against development projects ... Williston landfill, Southern Connector, Circ highway, Moran plant, Appletree Point senior housing, on and on. FPF gets dozens, hundreds, even thousands of people tuned into planning-related issues. It should be noted, that after Town Meeting, the postings reverted back toward FPF's bread and butter ... lost cat, seeking apartment, car break-in report, etc.

FPF members talk about feeling an increased sense of community ownership. A recent survey found that 45% of respondents reported "speaking up or getting involved on any public or policy issue as a result of subscribing to Front Porch Forum."

Wayne: How much of a financial commitment does it take to make Front Porch Forum work? Are there any other factors important to its success?

Michael: Front Porch Forum's success to date is due to many factors, including its inclusion of a moderator. Doing this kind of thing well requires resources. FPF operates as a small business covering all of Chittenden County. It generates revenue from advertising, municipal subscriptions, and other sources to cover its costs. This business model is promising at this early stage, but has not yet fully developed.

Another ingredient to Front Porch Forum's early success is that it is not beholden to any single interest. All FPF's decisions are made in an effort to fulfill its mission of helping neighbors connect and foster community at the neighborhood level.

One of the most interesting observations Michael made is that Front Porch Forum can actually increase citizen interest in local government meetings and public involvement. For example, he received this comment from a steering committee member on one of Burlington's neighborhood organizations: "We had a great turn out at the Neighborhood Planning Assembly meeting this past week -- 80 plus people and almost all of them are on the Front Porch Forum. We have had 3 great meetings with numbers above 50 this fall thanks to the free advertising on Front Porch Forum.

Front Porch Forum is one of ten finalists in a fascinating competition being sponsored by The Case Foundation.

Take a look at all 20 candidates -- representing a great variety of local projects from across America. And consider casting a vote for Front Porch Forum -- voting deadline is next week, on April 22nd!
Finding new ways to communicate is also important for planners and planning commissioners seeking to involve Generation Xers and other younger residents in local planning. We're running an article on this, The Next Generation of Your Planning Commission, in the Spring issue of the Planning Commissioners Journal. You can read excerpts & order/download the article.

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Thousands of Vermonters up for National Award

Results Matter: An eNewsletter from United Way of Chittenden County

Can tiny Vermont win another national online vote a la Springfield and the Simpsons? Local success story Front Porch Forum is taking a shot and needs your help. This online community-building service is in the running to win a $35,000 grant that will provide much-needed seed capital. Front Porch Forum already made the Top 20 out of nearly 5,000 entrants; now they need your help to make the Final Four and secure the funding. To see what's going on, go to http://casefoundation.org/myvote

Front Porch Forum hosts 130 online neighborhood forums covering all of Chittenden County, VT. More than 8,000 local households subscribe and use it to share news with their clearly identified nearby neighbors. Already 30% of Burlington participates and as much as 90% of some areas.

People use it to find childcare and borrow shovels, to note signs of spring ("first crocus!") and turn out a crowd for a school play. Neighbors organize litter clean-ups and block parties, and form neighborhood watch groups. Action moves from the virtual to the actual front porch. The Case Foundation is sponsoring this contest and aims to stimulate citizen-centered democracy through its Make It Your Own Awards.

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Front Porch Forum in Running for National Contest

The Charlotte News

Local success story Front Porch Forum is in the running to win a national contest of innovative community-building projects. It's in a group of 20 finalists winnowed down from nearly 5,000 entrants. The top four vote-getters will each receive $35,000 from the Case Foundation through its Make It Your Own Awards.

Started in 2006, Front Porch Forum hosts 130 online neighborhood forums covering all of Chittenden County. More than 200 Charlotte households participate so far.

"I am currently in the process of moving to Charlotte from Burlington," says Rachel Carter, "where I was involved in one of the most active Front Porch Forums. While not as active in Charlotte, I did send a post and received six individualized e-mails from community members offering answers to some questions and invitations to visit. It was most welcoming as a newcomer to the community."

People use Front Porch Forum to share owl sightings, organize group yard sales, report car break-ins, borrow shovels, help ailing neighbors, sell cars, give away strollers, announce concerts, find babysitters, share town meeting insights and more. And all this is done with clearly identified nearby neighbors.

Charlotter Lell Forehand says of the Forum: "I first read an article about Front Porch Forum in a newspaper and thought what a wonderful idea. I think the name 'Front Porch Forum' appealed to me as I grew up in a small community where people actually had front porches where we often sat and talked with our neighbors. (My Mom often said that she never wanted a house without a front porch.) Now we live in a world where people seem busier with little time for just 'sitting and chatting.' So I see Front Porch Forum as an ingenious idea to use technology as a way to be neighborly and to know more about community needs. This seems especially important in areas like Charlotte where our nearest neighbor may be in sight but maybe not. I have used FPF to seek information about various topics and have found it amazing that someone always responds with either the answer to my question or tells me someone to call who may know the answer. I have 'met' people in the community this way and hope that, if someone (or group) in the community has a special need, he or she would turn to FPF as a way to communicate that need. What a great way to build community spirit... kudos to those responsible for its initiation and those who keep it going."

Visit FrontPorchForum.com to vote. Front Porch Forum needs this funding to add features for its current users and to expand to other communities in Vermont and beyond. It's a long shot, but Vermont has a knack for pulling upsets (think Springfield and The Simpsons)! The polls close April 22, and the first ten voters to correctly pick the Final Four will be given a $2,500 grant to pass to the charity of their choice.

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Front Porch Forum nominated for national award

Morning Edition: Vermont Public Radio

By Mitch Wertlieb
2008-04-11

Last year we met Michael Wood-Lewis of Burlington, who's been helping neighbors in his community, and throughout Chittenden County, meet each other through the Front Porch Forum.

Michael and his wife started the on-line service about a year and a half ago and have watched it grow far beyond their initial expectations.

And it could expand further if the Front Porch Forum wins a national contest to be decided, appropriately enough, by on-line voting. More on that in a moment.

Michael Wood-Lewis came back to our VPR studios this week to tell us about the changes the Front Porch Forum has gone through since its debut, and to remind us what it's all about.

[About 5 minutes.]

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Front Porch Forum is National Award Finalist

Orton Family Foundation

Vermont non-profit is one of 20 finalists in the Case Foundation's Make It Your Own Awards program. Vote today for innovative, local democracy!

Burlington, VT -- Vermont's own Front Porch Forum, winner of the Orton Family Foundation's 2007 Innovator in Place Award, is in the running to win a national contest of innovative community-building projects.

Front Porch Forum is one of 20 finalists in the Make It Your Own Awards program, winnowed down from nearly 5,000 entrants. Part of a new Case Foundation (founded by former AOL CEO Steve Case and his wife Jean) initiative, the Make It Your Own Awards are designed to encourage community connections and innovations. Each award finalist has already won a $10,000 grant, but the top four vote-getters (by April 22) will each receive $25,000 more.

The Orton Family Foundation urges you to go to Make It Your Own Awards and vote for Front Porch Forum today.

Started in 2006 by Michael and Valerie Wood-Lewis of Burlington, Front Porch Forum (FPF) hosts 130 online neighborhood forums across all of Chittenden County, Vermont. Incredibly, more than 8,000 local households subscribe to this free service already, including 30% of places like Burlington (pop. 40,000), Huntington and Westford. Nine out of ten homes subscribe in some neighborhoods, with half posting messages.

"Front Porch Forum is an excellent example of new ways for people to develop relationships, trust, and confidence in public participation," Orton CEO and President Bill Roper said. "Front Porch Forum emphasizes many of the principles recognized by experts in planning and community development fields as critical for community building."

"Anybody who lives in Chittenden County may go onto our site, type in their street address, and be placed in the neighborhood forum that serves the area where they live," Wood-Lewis explains. "Each Front Porch Forum is private-strictly limited to the people living in each neighborhood-so they're a place where neighbors can post messages about simple stuff or local issues." People use Front Porch Forum to share town meeting insights, discuss neighborhood development proposals, publicize or discuss public meetings, communicate directly with local government officials or organize petitions to get the city to put up a stop sign.

Members also organize group yard sales and block parties, borrow shovels, share owl sightings, help ailing neighbors, sell cars, announce concerts, find babysitters, and more. All this is done with clearly identified nearby neighbors through email and a web site. Folks do not need to be web-savvy to join; all they need is the ability to receive email, and send some, if they want.

In his recent book, The Next Form of Democracy, Matt Leighinger discusses the changing face of local decisions and says, "In order to make sufficient progress on [local] issues, it was clear that large numbers of people, and many different kinds of people, had to be participating in the discussions. The best way to fight racism, boost volunteerism, or develop trust between citizens and government was to involve a critical mass of citizens in the effort."

Jim Kent of James Kent Associates is a true believer in the role of "informal networks" like those fostered by Front Porch Forum to build direct democracy within communities. This desire to encourage broader, deeper community conversations and helpful ways for citizens to participate and truly influence decisions is essential to community discourse that results in action. In another example of such engagement, the Foundation is partnering with The Open Planning Project to build a web-based Community Almanac that will let citizens upload stories, pictures and videos about special places in their communities to further weave local fabric and build relationships.

The Foundation applauds Front Porch Forum's success in facilitating local conversations and relationships. Susan Comerford of the University of Vermont agrees, "Front Porch Forum provides the support and care that meld individuals who live near one another into engaged, civic-minded neighbors."

Any Chittenden County resident may sign up for this free local service at http://FrontPorchForum.com. Please join the conversation. People outside of greater Burlington and beyond Vermont are encouraged to vote for Front Porch Forum in the Make It Your Own Awards competition so that it can expand and improve its services.

FPF needs your support to ensure its viability and expansion, so please vote today at http://casefoundation.org/myvote.

The Orton Family Foundation, based in Middlebury, Vermont, and with an office in Denver, seeks to help small cities and towns discover and describe their heart and soul-the collective attributes that make communities unique-and build on those attributes in planning toward a vibrant, enduring future.

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A post-Facebook retro social network

themediamanager.com

Just because you can doesn't mean you should.

Technology permits blink-of-an-eye contact and an all-day-wired-up-and-followed feeling: Twitter, Facebook and IM pretty well track your every, well, everything.

Then there's Front Porch Forum, a service that is using technology - or some of it, anyway - to link neighbours and services in Chittenden County, Vermont. The main differences: You have to say who you are and where you live when you e-mail, and you have to wait for once-a-day delivery of the raft of messages coming from all over the neighbourhood. So, no aliases, no cloaking, no down and dirty discussions - just something civil, slower moving, respectful.

The challenge for the service, like all such services, is to make money. At the moment there are government sponsors and advertisers, but this is one service you can foresee moving from the free-to-fee territory. After all, it’s a legitimately great local utility.

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Contest: Vote for Front Porch Forum!

Seven Days - Notes On the Weekend

Front Porch Forum is a free, neighborhood email newsletter service based in Burlington. If you like it as much as we do, then take a minute to vote for FPF in this online contest. The Case Foundation chose FPF as one of 20 finalists for a "Make it Your Own" award. Four winners get $25,000 to fund their community-building projects. Your vote could help FPF upgrade its system, and maybe reach out beyond Chittenden County. So go vote for the home team.
https://vote.election-america.com/make-it-your-own

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VOTE Today for Front Porch Forum

North Avenue News

Vermont small business makes cut in national contest
Underdog Front Porch Forum pitted against big city projects
Vote today!

Vermont won the Simpsons' Springfield online vote last year, pulling a major upset over larger places... can lighting strike twice for this tiny state?

Local success story Front Porch Forum is in the running to win a national contest of innovative community-building projects. It's in a group of 20 finalists winnowed down from nearly 5,000 entrants. The top four vote-getters will each receive $35,000 from the Case Foundation through its Make It Your Own Awards (http://casefoundation.org/myvote).

"We're so fortunate to have Front Porch Forum," said Bruce Seifer of Burlington's Community and Economic Development Office. "It helps people feel part of their neighborhoods and to make real connections. Everyone should vote for it online today... it takes two minutes and anyone may vote. Front Porch Forum's future depends on this support."

Started in 2006 by Michael and Valerie Wood-Lewis of Burlington, Front Porch Forum hosts 130 online neighborhood forums covering all of Chittenden County. Incredibly, more than 8,000 local households subscribe to this free service already, including 30% of places like Burlington, Huntington and Westford. Nine out of ten homes subscribe in some neighborhoods, with half posting messages.

"My daughter wanted a canoe outing with friends for her 14th birthday, so I put out a call for help through our neighborhood forum," says Sharon Monette-Owens of South Burlington. "All the canoes, paddles and life jackets we needed arrived on loan and we got to know more of our neighbors along the way! Front Porch Forum saved us $200 to boot!" Front Porch Forum generates dozens of similar stories every month.

People use Front Porch Forum to share owl sightings, organize group yard sales, report car break-ins, borrow shovels, help ailing neighbors, sell cars, give away strollers, announce concerts, find babysitters, share town meeting insights, and more. And all this is done with clearly identified nearby neighbors.

"Front Porch Forum provides the information necessary for people to participate intelligently in the democratic process," reports University of Vermont professor Susan Comerford. "It provides the support and care that meld individuals who live near one another into engaged, civic-minded neighbors."

"I encourage everyone to go to http://FrontPorchForum.com and vote," says Michael Wood-Lewis. "Then spread the word via email, Facebook, newsletters, blogs... whatever methods you use. Front Porch Forum needs this funding to add features for our current users and to expand to other communities in Vermont and beyond. We're a long shot, but Vermont has a knack for pulling upsets!" One vote per email address and the polls close April 22, 2008.

The first ten voters to correctly pick the Final Four will be given a $2,500 grant to pass to the charity of their choice. So vote early.

Any Chittenden County resident may sign up for this free local service at http://FrontPorchForum.com Dozens of your nearby neighbors are already on board! Please join the conversation. People outside of greater Burlington are encouraged to vote for Front Porch Forum so that it can expand to their communities.

Front Porch Forum uses the Internet to connect neighbors

Disruptive Conversations

How well do you know your neighbors? How often do you see them? Do you know what's going on in your neighborhood?

The reality today is that our lives seem to be getting increasingly busier and we very often don't know our neighbors all that well. Even when we do know our neighbors, we may not see them all that often as our schedules may not overlap. Plus, there are often times of the year when we stay indoors as much as we can (winter in the north, summer in the south) and may see our neighbors only in passing. (Unless, of course, you have a dog, in which case you may see your neighbors a great deal if you walk said dog.)

Here in Burlington, Vermont, we've had an ongoing experiment for the past couple of years in using the global Internet to connect people in their local neighborhood. It's a service called Front Porch Forum (FPF) that started here in Burlington, has expanded to cover the entire county here in Vermont and is now looking to expand into other parts of the country/world.

One of the interesting aspects is that FPF uses that very decidedly unsexy and un-Web2.0 medium of...

email!

Yes, indeed, the killer app for connecting people in their local neighborhood turns out to be... email mailing lists that are restricted, moderated and digested. You have to live in the neighborhood to join. All messages to the mailing list are moderated. And only one message is sent out every day or so (depending upon volume) containing all the other messages. Think of it as almost a community "newsletter" sent to all members.

I have to say that... it works! You know (or come to know) the people in your community There's no spam. It doesn't flood your inbox. There's no special website you have to go to... you just get the message in your inbox wherever you read your email.

Simple. Easy.

And that is perhaps the key. These days it's extremely easy to get set up with an email account, and that's all you need. You can read it whenever you can... so you don't have to be right there.

Here in Burlington where, according to the Front Porch Forum folks, some 30% of all households are subscribers to their neighborhood forum, it's been an incredibly useful service. I've learned of upcoming events (and posted some). Volunteers have been found for local events. Community associations use it to put out info about their activities. The city of Burlington has taken to sending out notices. Local politicians have posted notices. We've had some debates/arguments about certain aspects of our neighborhood (like "should we put a lock on the gate to the beach area?") Advocates for various causes have posted notes about their views. All sorts of notices, requests, questions, debates... (you can read some testimonials online).

Having been active in our local neighborhood (and on the community association board for a year), I've certainly seen the value. People will say "Oh, yeah, I saw that on the forum." I've had neighbors, some of whom I didn't know, contact me specifically because of notes I've posted. Sometimes by email, sometimes by phone and also in person. It has connected our local community together more - and it's been an interesting experiment to watch.

Now is there any real difference from FPF and just a plain, old, mailing list for a neighborhood using something like Google Groups? On one level, no, not really. It's just a mailing list after all. The difference really is that with your own mailing list, someone has to administer it. Someone has to deal with spam, either by approving memberships or moderating messages. And the list has to be publicized. The FPF crew takes on the sysadmin issues and moderation tasks. They also make it easy for people to find your local community mailing list because all you need to do is enter your street address.

To get a sense of the project, here's a video that was recently produced about Front Porch Forum:

Front Porch Forum is also up for a Case Foundation award along with some other great projects and is looking for votes. :-)

Sadly, when we move to Keene, NH, in a few months I'll have to leave the FPF behind (at least until they expand into that area). I'll leave, though, having seen an example of a really old electronic media (email) playing a really neat role in connecting neighbors to neighbors.

Do you have anything similar in your neighborhood? (BTW, you can sign up at Front Porch Forum even if you're not in Vermont and the FPF folks will contact you if/when they expand into your area.)

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Front Porch Forum Makes Friends & Neighbors, But Can It Make Money?

Wall Street Journal - All Things Digital

We are a society that lives more and more in our technology-induced bubbles. When we go outside, we wear an iPod; we talk on cell phones while driving. In urban areas, we might never meet our neighbors unless there’s a fire or earthquake. But can technology also help bring us together in our physical communities, and help us get to know our neighbors? Front Porch Forum (FPF) is making a valiant effort to do just that, offering up closed email forums that are strictly limited to people living within each physical neighborhood in Chittenden County, Vermont.

Read the rest of this post.

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Front Porch Forum Makes Friends & Neighbors, But Can It Make Money?

MediaShift on PBS.org

We are a society that lives more and more in our technology-induced bubbles. When we go outside, we wear an iPod; we talk on cell phones while driving. In urban areas, we might never meet our neighbors unless there's a fire or earthquake. But can technology also help bring us together in our physical communities, and help us get to know our neighbors?

Front Porch Forum (FPF) is making a valiant effort to do just that, offering up closed email forums that are strictly limited to people living within each physical neighborhood in Chittenden County, Vermont. Rather than being free-wheeling, anything-goes forums, FPF has been able to build more civil discussions by having people include their full name, street name and email address with each post. And users rave about how the site helps them connect with neighbors, find a lost pet or a good landlord, and even complain directly to local government officials.

But while the service has flourished, gaining more than 8,800 subscribers by word of mouth alone, Front Porch Forum has had trouble figuring out how to make the business profitable. Fifty local businesses have signed on as sponsors, and some municipal departments pay a monthly subscription fee of $99 to reach constituents, but FPF hasn't been able to find the steady stream of revenue needed to expand into other Vermont counties and beyond.

Michael Wood-Lewis started FPF as a way to meet neighbors in Burlington, Vermont, after he had moved there from Washington, DC. He ran one neighborhood email list starting in 2000 as a hobby, and then decided to make it a full-time business about 18 months ago, expanding it into the entire county, with 130 forums. The idea was to give people a simple way to get to know their neighbors, a lost art in much of the country where the bake sales and lemonade stands of yore are uncommon occurences.

"The surprising thing was the degree to which people were using it," Wood-Lewis told me. "And we kept an open source attitude toward the rules of engagement. We ceded ownership over to the neighborhood. Someone said, 'You really should remove anonymous postings,' so we required first names. After awhile, people said, 'First names are fine, but I don't know who Bill is.' So bit by bit, we got to using first and last name, the street you live on and your email address on every post. And we had this clear vision of folks using this to get to know each other better. It's not about news or classifieds or politics -- all that happens, but it's secondary to getting to know your neighbors."

The people who use FPF can't get enough of it. Vermont-based novelist and blogger Philip Baruth told me he was surprised no one had thought of something like Front Porch Forum before.

"It's great," he said. "It puts the power of the Internet at the extreme local level where you're not used to using it. If you have a homespun blog, and you have readers in your city, you never get down to the level where you could target the people around you. It proves endlessly useful…I might walk my dog past a house but never know who lived there. But then I see that address on the forum and I start to fill in the blanks on who lives in all these houses."

Local publicist Rachel Carter has been on three different forums on FPF, and told me that everything isn't peaches and cream. "The forum has a lot of complaining, and people wanting to post political nonsense, and sometimes some fighting," she said. "Some of the postings can be negative, but there's positive in that people are discussing things. I think it's a factor of the people that are here and the anger in the community and has nothing to do with the forum."

Carter told me the ads from sponsors run at the bottom of the email roundups, and that they might work better if one sponsor was highlighted per email, with more relevant messages. "The best way to do advertising would be if it was more personalized," she said. "One advertiser per day, who's tied to the community, and was more personally targeted to that community. 'We're a store in this neighborhood, come in and get a special discount.' That would go over big."

Wood-Lewis is currently trying to win a funding contest from the Case Foundation (started by former AOL chief Steve Case and his wife Jean), which has already netted FPF $10,000 as a finalist. If FPF gets enough online votes, Wood-Lewis will get another $25,000, which he says is a lot of money for a bootstrapped startup company run by one person, himself. The following is an edited transcript of my recent phone chat with Wood-Lewis.

Tell me when you first started Front Porch Forum, and why you did it, and also why you decided to expand it into more towns.

Michael Wood-Lewis: Back in 2000, my wife and I had moved here to Burlington from Washington, DC, a couple years before, hoping to leave the big city to a place where we could fit in to a smaller city and find community. And we landed in a neighborhood that was known for being great that way, but we still hadn't met the neighbors. My wife is a public school teacher and decided to take the bull by the horns. She baked cookies and took them over to [the neighbors], and used china plates instead of paper plates so that they would have a chance to bring them back and we could interact again. We never saw the plates again.

It wasn't that they were bad folks, it's that everyone is busy and cultural expectations have shifted in this generation. We were just strangers who lived next door. There's no social contract there. Maybe if our house was on fire, it would have kicked in. Our second attempt was to build what was a precursor to a Yahoo Group for the neighborhood. And we used fairly primitive tools to build it, and made fliers and dropped them in 300 front doors. And in short order, 25, 50, 75 households signed up and people started using it. Now that kind of thing is old news, but at the time it was fairly unusual.

The evidence was overwhelming that we had something that was worth sharing. And at the same time I was leaving my job [in 2006], I thought I could try to make this work. I hired a web developer I knew to put together a website and just put it out there so people could sign up. And now, after a year and a half, we host 130 neighborhood forums across the metro area. So anyone in this area can put in their physical address and it will land in a pre-existing forum. And now we're at 8,808 total subscribers in Chittenden County, and about 4,600 subscribers in the City of Burlington. Some neighborhoods are as high as 90% [participation].

How do you differentiate what you do from the simple Yahoo Groups or Google Groups that anyone can set up?

Wood-Lewis: In several ways. People sometimes miss what we're doing from a distance. We've banished the term listserve or Yahoo Groups in comparing this, because people generally have a bad experience with them. My wife, for example, is on her computer every day and sometimes she gets into a Yahoo Group, and says, 'I get too much junk, and someone just replied to a 10-page message and didn't erase it when they replied, and why doesn't someone put a headline on this?' It's a hard-to-use interface, and forget about customer service. It's typically a frustrating experience for most people.

We designed our service to be as unobtrusive as possible. It arrives in your in-box because that's where you find everyone. We're trying to get just about everyone in the neighborhood and nearly everyone uses email. Plus, it's moderated and restricted to only nearby neighbors and it's not anonymous…There are people who can cut across multiple forums, and there's interesting things that happen with that. Certain public officials can do that for their jurisdiction. So the representative for Ward 5 can get access into the nine forums that they represent. The same for school board members or police or other neighborhood officials.

The public officials take a lot away because they listen in and tune in quite a bit. My initial thought was that these guys would be inundated with lost-cat messages and their eyes would glaze over. But what I found was that most of the local public officials are very interested in reading these because it's a way to have their ear to the ground with constituents. And they can post announcements about issues, about car break-ins or Wal-Mart plans, or whatever, to get feedback.

A lot of people talk about how the Internet can help public officials stay in touch with constituents. I guess you're seeing that happening.

Wood-Lewis: Definitely. And it's not all smooth sailing. There are challenges and occasionally the citizens are unreasonable and some officials don't always do well with engagement. There's a bit of a learning curve but eventually it's a positive experience.

We also have Neighborhood Volunteers, and anyone can sign up to do that and be a booster. And by doing that, they have access to a forum of all the volunteers across the county. And there are now 250 to 300 volunteers. So for anyone who does community organizing, they can use this to reach other active organizers, who then have access to dozens of their neighbors. So if you're trying to organize something, a charity drive, you can post it to the volunteer forum, and then reach thousands of people.

Do the volunteers moderate the forums? Have they blocked messages from going through?

Wood-Lewis: No. I don't think we've ever forbidden a message. Front Porch Forum does have a moderator, and that's me. We're looking to make our first hire and have someone take off some of the load. We don't run into too many issues with content because everyone's clearly identified, and you're talking with your neighbors and you have your street address on it. On the other hand, our local newspaper opened up comments on its articles and there's been some nasty stuff on there.

Do you have any way to protect yourself from someone going on and posing as someone else?

Wood-Lewis: We have some basic precautionary measures. If someone posts something in a neighborhood of 300 households and says he's Dan Smith, that's going to be flushed out pretty quickly. I had one guy sign up like that and his automated welcome message went through, which triggered three people calling me saying there was no such address and they didn't know the name. So I contacted him and never heard back. The only mischief we see is people want to get into the neighborhood forums. We're not trying to be jerks but what gives them their power is that it's just their neighbors on each forum.

Every time we ask people about opening up the content -- and there's terrific content on there -- the reaction we get is, 'Yeah, I'd like to see those, but as far as posting, I would cut posting in half and not post on many subjects.' Posting a letter to nearby neighbors is like talking at a block party. Posting something more broadly is more like a letter to the editor. Those are fundamentally two different things. I'm trying to keep that block party vibe, so we need to keep it segregated.

Tell me about the business model. You have some sponsorships and advertisements. Is that where you see your main revenues?

Wood-Lewis: We went for our first year without attempting to generate any revenue. We just wanted to get the technology going and see if there was a demand for the service first. For the last six months, we've been working to get some revenues, and it's promising, but we're not there yet. The primary source is advertising and getting sponsors. We've had 50 or so local businesses in our county come to us, and it's just me. We don't have any investment capital to date or sales staff. Businesses come to us asking if they can advertise, and we now can say, 'yes.'

We also are selling subscriptions to municipal departments. We have constituents talking about municipal issues, and it's worth it for them to monitor that. We provided it for free for a year and then started charging, and most of the departments have signed on for that. They have full access to all the neighborhood forums in the city and can read and post to all the forums.

We have six or seven departments participating out of 10, including schools, parks & recreation, police, telecom, electric. It's $99 per month for each department. They can engage with an individual neighborhood or forum as much as they want. If they're going to fix a playground, they can interact as much as they want. But if they're going to post a public service announcement, then we limit it to a couple per month. If they want more than that, they can pay an additional fee. Elected officials still get free access, because it makes sense to me, they are the elected representatives for the people and we're helping both parties talk.

How do the advertisements work? Are they text or graphical?

Wood-Lewis: We're low tech, we're email, our emails are plain text. Nothing's anonymous, and it's not instantaneous. When people submit a message, it doesn't get published except in the daily publication. When heavy Web 2.0 users sign up, I usually hear from them in frustration a day later, because they want a Facebook experience where they can push buttons and upload 20 widgets. I tell them to slow down, that this is a different experience. The ads are delivered in plain text emails. We sell them on a per-day basis. Over a three-day period, we hit everybody. It starts at $78 per day and the price drops with volume.

Would you consider getting outside funding?

Wood-Lewis: We are up for a grant from the Case Foundation, which is not a huge amount of money but would be a huge shot in the arm for us…I was involved in a startup in 1999 called ForestWorld.com, a portal for forest products with a sustainable forestry twist. We got a million in investment money, hired 40 people, put up a site and then the bubble burst and the party was over. It was interesting and I learned a lot, but this is a different endeavor.

I want to grow [FPF] carefully. We want to benefit our town, and I'd love to see us grow this across our state and beyond with natural growth out. There might be a chance to grow that significantly, but not yet. I don't want to get ahead of ourselves. I would take venture capital money at the right time, but we're not there yet. It could happen later this year. I don't want this endeavor to be led by the money. We have had some interested parties but we need to stick to our path, but when we need money to accomplish something, then we'll look for the money. I'm pretty optimistic that we'll be able to raise funds when we need them.

What are the challenges with getting revenues with hyper-local sites? Can you do it in a scaled way or is it limited to your own community?

Wood-Lewis: It's a good question and I don't know the answer. My experience in going around to small businesses, they either don't know anything or they're very aggressive and are bidding for Google AdWords. What I've decided with our approach is that we have no marketing budget, it's all been word of mouth. It's been incredibly successful.

I hope we can do the same thing to attract advertisers. We've had 500 local businesses contact us, and 10% of them have put money down. That's all been because they've seen this, and a light bulb went off over their head. It's not like a florist who doesn't get the Internet and needs a consultant to help them figure out how to run Google ads.

My gut feeling is that as the web gets more crowded, especially in "local" served up by Yahoo and Google, genuinely local stuff has got to be increasingly valuable. How do you find it? By living there, by word of mouth. That's why we want to grow it from our neighborhood up to our county, and then to adjacent counties. If we were to parachute into Phoenix right now, it would be tough sledding.

If there is one part of your service that you think you can monetize, what would that be?

Wood-Lewis: I once did a survey about our flagship neighborhood here, after they had the service for five years. I asked how many would be willing to pay a subscription fee. And two-thirds said they would at an average of $40 per year. I was surprised by that. Since then, I added a PayPal button so they can give money voluntarily. Some people came through, and a very small number was OK with paying a regular subscription.

But it's a real bear. People will say they love the service, that it's more valuable than the local newspaper or their Newsweek subscription. But then they'll stop and think about the web, and say it's more valuable than Craigslist, but Craigslist is free. So the web makes people think that everything should be free. So maybe we could give them the first year free and then start charging a subscription. After a year, people are hooked. But that's all to be explored.

*****

What do you think about Front Porch Forum? Do you think there's a way to make it into a successful business? How? And if you use FPF, what do you like about it and what could be improved? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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Vote to "Seed" Front Porch Forum!

Vermont Peak Oil Network e-Newsletter

Thousands of Online Vermonters up for National Award

Can tiny Vermont win another national online vote a la Springfield and the Simpsons? Local success story Front Porch Forum is taking a shot and needs your help. This online community-building service is in the running to win a $35,000 grant that will provide much-needed seed capital. Front Porch Forum already made the Top 20 out of nearly 5,000 entrants; now they need your help to make the Final Four and secure the funding. Go to http://casefoundation.org/myvote to vote today! And please help spread the word.

Front Porch Forum hosts 130 online neighborhood forums covering all of Chittenden County, VT. More than 8,000 local households subscribe and use it to share news with their clearly identified nearby neighbors. Already 30% of Burlington participates and as much as 90% of some areas.

People use it to find childcare and borrow shovels, to note signs of spring ("first crocus!") and turn out a crowd for a school play. Neighbors organize litter clean-ups and block parties, and form neighborhood watch groups. Action moves from the virtual to the actual front porch!

The Case Foundation is sponsoring this contest and aims to stimulate citizen-centered democracy through its Make It Your Own Awards.

Please vote today and spread the word through email, Facebook, MySpace, newsletters, blogs and more! One vote per email address and the polls close April 22, 2008. And any resident of Chittenden County may sign up for Front Porch Forum... here!

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Vermont Online Forum Competes for Award

WCAX Channel 3 News

By Andy Potter
2008-03-29

An online community discussion board run by a Burlington non-profit is competing for a national award.

Michael Wood-Lewis started the Front Porch Forum a couple of years ago. Today, the service operates 130 separate discussion groups in neighborhoods all over Chittenden County. Now, the Front Porch Forum is competing for a foundation grant to help keep it running. "The Case Foundation is going to provide a $35,000 grant to each of the final four vote-getters. So we hope we're in that lot. We know we're an underdog because we come from tiny Vermont. But we think if Springfield Vermont can win the Simpsons contest, we've got a shot too," Wood-Lewis said.

The Front Porch Forum already has cleared a crowded field of five-thousand entries and is among twenty candidates for the final four. If you want to support Front Porch Forum, You can go to www.frontporchforum.com and follow the directions.

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Vote for Front Porch Forum

Neighborhood BUZZ

Burlington's Front Porch Forum is in the running to win a national contest of innovative community-building projects. It's in a group of 20 finalists winnowed down from nearly 5,000 entrants. The top four vote-getters will each receive $35,000 from the Case Foundation through its Make It Your Own Awards (http://casefoundation.org/myvote).

"We're so fortunate to have Front Porch Forum," said Bruce Seifer of Burlington's Community and Economic Development Office. "It helps people feel part of their neighborhoods and to make real connections. Everyone should vote for it online today... it takes two minutes and anyone may vote. Front Porch Forum's future depends on this support."

Started in 2006 by Michael and Valerie Wood-Lewis of Burlington, Front Porch Forum hosts 130 online neighborhood forums covering all of Chittenden County. Incredibly, more than 8,000 local households subscribe to this free service already, including 30% of places like Burlington, Huntington and Westford. Any Chittenden County resident may sign up for this free local service at http://FrontPorchForum.com

People use Front Porch Forum to share owl sightings, organize group yard sales, report car break-ins, borrow shovels, help ailing neighbors, sell cars, give away strollers, announce concerts, find babysitters, share town meeting insights, and more. And all this is done with clearly identified nearby neighbors.

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Front Porch Forum is finalist for Case Foundation award

Burlington Free Press

The Front Porch Forum, an online neighborhood forum founded and based in Burlington, is one of 20 finalists in the running for a $35,000 award from the Case Foundation.

The Front Porch Forum, where Vermont neighbors write online messages about everything from who-needs-a-bike? to who-heard-the-bird-sing?, is a finalist among a group of organizations that are working in a variety of innovative ways to improve their neighborhoods and cities: From trying to make Denver the most kid-friendly place to an arts/leadership school on the South Side of Chicago to community bonding and building through the Internet (FPF).

"We're so fortunate to have FrontPorchForum.com," said Bruce Seifer of Burlington's Community and Economic Development Office in a news release. "It helps people feel part of their neighborhoods and to make real connections. Everyone should vote for it online today."

Started in 2006 by Michael and Valerie Wood-Lewis of Burlington, FrontPorchForum.com hosts 130 online neighborhood forums covering all of Chittenden County, with more than 8,000 local households subscribing to this free service.

"FrontPorchForum.com needs this funding to add features for our current users and to expand to other communities in Vermont and beyond," Michael Wood-Lewis said in a news release. "We're a long shot, but Vermont has a knack for pulling upsets!"

To vote for your favorite -- or four favorite -- civic projects, go to: http://casefoundation.org/myvote. Voting ends April 22.

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Vote for Front Porch Forum

Burlington Telecom e-Newsletter

Burlington's Front Porch Forum is in the running to win a national contest of innovative community-building projects. It's in a group of 20 finalists winnowed down from nearly 5,000 entrants. The top four vote-getters will each receive $35,000 from the Case Foundation through its Make It Your Own Awards (http://casefoundation.org/myvote).

"We're so fortunate to have Front Porch Forum," said Bruce Seifer of Burlington's Community and Economic Development Office. "It helps people feel part of their neighborhoods and to make real connections. Everyone should vote for it online today... it takes two minutes and anyone may vote. Front Porch Forum's future depends on this support."

Started in 2006 by Michael and Valerie Wood-Lewis of Burlington, Front Porch Forum hosts 130 online neighborhood forums covering all of Chittenden County. Incredibly, more than 8,000 local households subscribe to this free service already, including 30% of places like Burlington, Huntington and Westford. Any Chittenden County resident may sign up for this free local service at http://FrontPorchForum.com

People use Front Porch Forum to share owl sightings, organize group yard sales, report car break-ins, borrow shovels, help ailing neighbors, sell cars, give away strollers, announce concerts, find babysitters, share town meeting insights, and more. And all this is done with clearly identified nearby neighbors.

Can Simpsons' Magic Strike VT Twice?

iBrattleboro

Vermont small business makes cut in national contest
Underdog Front Porch Forum pitted against big city projects
Vote today!

Vermont won the Simpsons' Springfield online vote last year, pulling a major upset over larger places... can lighting strike twice for this tiny state?

Local success story Front Porch Forum is in the running to win a national contest of innovative community-building projects. It's in a group of 20 finalists winnowed down from nearly 5,000 entrants. The top four vote-getters will each receive $35,000 from the Case Foundation through its Make It Your Own Awards (http://casefoundation.org/myvote).

"We're so fortunate to have Front Porch Forum," said Bruce Seifer of Burlington's Community and Economic Development Office. "It helps people feel part of their neighborhoods and to make real connections. Everyone should vote for it online today... it takes two minutes and anyone may vote. Front Porch Forum's future depends on this support."

Started in 2006 by Michael and Valerie Wood-Lewis of Burlington, Front Porch Forum hosts 130 online neighborhood forums covering all of Chittenden County. Incredibly, more than 8,000 local households subscribe to this free service already, including 30% of places like Burlington, Huntington and Westford. Nine out of ten homes subscribe in some neighborhoods, with half posting messages.

"My daughter wanted a canoe outing with friends for her 14th birthday, so I put out a call for help through our neighborhood forum," says Sharon Monette-Owens of South Burlington. "All the canoes, paddles and life jackets we needed arrived on loan and we got to know more of our neighbors along the way! Front Porch Forum saved us $200 to boot!" Front Porch Forum generates dozens of similar stories every month.

People use Front Porch Forum to share owl sightings, organize group yard sales, report car break-ins, borrow shovels, help ailing neighbors, sell cars, give away strollers, announce concerts, find babysitters, share town meeting insights, and more. And all this is done with clearly identified nearby neighbors.

"Front Porch Forum provides the information necessary for people to participate intelligently in the democratic process," reports University of Vermont professor Susan Comerford. "It provides the support and care that meld individuals who live near one another into engaged, civic-minded neighbors."

"I encourage everyone to go to FrontPorchForum.com and vote," says Michael Wood-Lewis. "Then spread the word via email, Facebook, newsletters, blogs... whatever methods you use. Front Porch Forum needs this funding to add features for our current users and to expand to other communities in Vermont and beyond. We're a long shot, but Vermont has a knack for pulling upsets!" One vote per email address and the polls close April 22, 2008.

The first ten voters to correctly pick the Final Four will be given a $2,500 grant to pass to the charity of their choice. So vote early.

Any Chittenden County resident may sign up for this free local service at http://FrontPorchForum.com Dozens of your nearby neighbors are already on board! Please join the conversation. People outside of greater Burlington are encouraged to vote for Front Porch Forum so that it can expand to their communities.

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Front Porch Forum in the running for national award

News Release

Vermont small business makes cut in national contest
Underdog Front Porch Forum pitted against big city projects
Vote today!

Vermont won the Simpsons' Springfield online vote last year, pulling a major upset over larger places... can lighting strike twice for this tiny state?

Local success story Front Porch Forum is in the running to win a national contest of innovative community-building projects. It's in a group of 20 finalists winnowed down from nearly 5,000 entrants. The top four vote-getters will each receive $35,000 from the Case Foundation through its Make It Your Own Awards (http://casefoundation.org/myvote).

"We're so fortunate to have Front Porch Forum," said Bruce Seifer of Burlington's Community and Economic Development Office. "It helps people feel part of their neighborhoods and to make real connections. Everyone should vote for it online today... it takes two minutes and anyone may vote. Front Porch Forum's future depends on this support."

Started in 2006 by Michael and Valerie Wood-Lewis of Burlington, Front Porch Forum hosts 130 online neighborhood forums covering all of Chittenden County. Incredibly, more than 8,000 local households subscribe to this free service already, including 30% of places like Burlington, Huntington and Westford. Nine out of ten homes subscribe in some neighborhoods, with half posting messages.

"My daughter wanted a canoe outing with friends for her 14th birthday, so I put out a call for help through our neighborhood forum," says Sharon Monette-Owens of South Burlington. "All the canoes, paddles and life jackets we needed arrived on loan and we got to know more of our neighbors along the way! Front Porch Forum saved us $200 to boot!" Front Porch Forum generates dozens of similar stories every month.

People use Front Porch Forum to share owl sightings, organize group yard sales, report car break-ins, borrow shovels, help ailing neighbors, sell cars, give away strollers, announce concerts, find babysitters, share town meeting insights, and more. And all this is done with clearly identified nearby neighbors.

"Front Porch Forum provides the information necessary for people to participate intelligently in the democratic process," reports University of Vermont professor Susan Comerford. "It provides the support and care that meld individuals who live near one another into engaged, civic-minded neighbors."

"I encourage everyone to go to FrontPorchForum.com and vote," says Michael Wood-Lewis. "Then spread the word via email, Facebook, newsletters, blogs... whatever methods you use. Front Porch Forum needs this funding to add features for our current users and to expand to other communities in Vermont and beyond. We're a long shot, but Vermont has a knack for pulling upsets!" One vote per email address and the polls close April 22, 2008.

The first ten voters to correctly pick the Final Four will be given a $2,500 grant to pass to the charity of their choice. So vote early.

Any Chittenden County resident may sign up for this free local service at http://FrontPorchForum.com Dozens of your nearby neighbors are already on board! Please join the conversation. People outside of greater Burlington are encouraged to vote for Front Porch Forum so that it can expand to their communities.

Front Porch Forum Video Clip

YouTube

By Meghan O'Rourke and Sam Mayfield
2008-03-01

FrontPorchForum.com helps neighbors connect and build community within the neighborhood. Already 30% of its pilot city (Burlington, VT) subscribes.

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Front Porch Forum Helps Neighbors

The Islander

Milton's Front Porch Forums continue to gather new members. The Front Porch Forum's mission is to help neighbors connect and foster community within the neighborhood. Common sense and a growing body of research tell us that well-connected neighborhoods are friendlier places to live, with less crime, healthier residents, higher property values, and better service from local government and public utilities.

Neighbors contact neighbors with questions and information -- Lost Cat! Need Plumber. Will Shovel Walks. Car Pool Opening. Forums serve as neighborhood watches, as information centers, as a place to chat or announce family friendly events. To connect with yours, go to http://frontporchforum.com

Front Porch Forum was invented in Vermont for Vermont and has been nationally recognized. The service provides online forums for neighborhoods, based on a successful model six years in the making, and capitalizing on our founders' many years of community development work. Michael and Valerie Wood-Lewis launched the Five Sisters Neighborhood Forum in the spring of 2000 in hopes of learning more about their corner of Burlington, Vermont and the people who live there. Six years later, the original forum's incredible success led the couple to launch Front Porch Forum to help others invigorate their neighborhoods too. Come up on the porch and have some hot cocoa!

Innovator in Place: Michael Wood-Lewis

Scenarios: The Orton Family Foundation's Semi-Annual E-Newsletter

Michael Wood-Lewis, with his wife Valerie, founded Front Porch Forum in 2006. In its first year, the Forum's trend setting use of the Internet at the neighborhood level brought 25 percent of Burlington, Vermont (pop. 38,889) into community discussions. The free online service hosts 130 adjacent neighborhood forums covering every part of Chittenden County. About 8,000 households have subscribed, and hundreds more join every month. Michael, recipient of the 2007 Innovator in Place Award, brings to bear an unusual combination of technical background (MS engineering University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), business experience (MBA), and 20 years of community organizing. John Barstow visited Michael at his home in Burlington's Five Sisters neighborhood to learn about how Front Porch Forum creates community.


JB: Michael, the early promise of the Internet was as a global communications tool, but more recently the online world is blamed for pulling people away from their physical surroundings. So, can Front Porch Forum (FPF) help promote place and community?

MWL: Yes, it's odd to think that the Internet might actually bring people closer together who live near each other. Everyone knows that the Internet can help you connect with someone in Bali who's also interested in the same model train and that's wonderful. But what about the guy next door? And at the same time, aren't people spending more and more time online? Isn't that the opposite of building community in place? And that is a real concern. But there are some exciting new developments, including our project, Front Porch Forum, where people are using the Internet to build community--next door, down the block.

JB: What is Front Porch Forum in a nutshell?

MWL: Front Porch Forum is a collection of online neighborhood forums. In our pilot area, around greater Burlington, Vermont, we host 130 of these forums. So anybody who lives in Chittenden County, Vermont, may go onto our site, type in their street address, and be placed in the neighborhood forum that serves the area where they live. Front Porch Forums are private--they're not open to the whole worldwide web--so they're a place where neighbors can come on and post messages about simple stuff like a lost cat or seeking a plumber or announcing a school play or they might use the service to organize something, like a block party or a petition to get the municipal government to put in a stop sign or whatever it might be. Or it might be used for political back-and-forth. People use it for all sorts of things.

JB: How did you come to create FPF?

MWL: Several years ago my wife and I were new in the community (Burlington, Vermont's South End), and we were so pleased to live in a wonderful neighborhood, now called the Five Sisters for the street names. It's a well-regarded neighborhood and known to be very friendly, and yet we were having trouble getting to know the neighbors. And perhaps it was us, but I don't think so. It was just that people were busy.

A couple of incidents sparked our desire to try something else. First my wife said, "When I was a girl, neighbors would bring a plate of homemade cookies over to the folks who had moved in." And so we waited. And we waited. Three months went by and no cookies and my wife's a take-charge kind of girl and so she said, "Well, I'll make cookies and I'll take them around." And so she did and as she's heading out the door with paper plates and cookies she says, "Oh, wait, I'll put them on china and that way people will have to return them, so we'll get two opportunities to talk with them."

Well, people were very friendly and glad to get the cookies, but... we never saw the plates again. Of course, they're not terrible people, just busy. So I said, "Well, I understand there's some kind of neighborhood gathering this summer and when that happens, let's see how that goes." One day we came back from an outing and we saw people packing up barbeque grills on the street and putting away folding tables, and we asked, "What happened?" One of the neighbors said,

"Oh, we had our annual picnic."

We were crestfallen.

"Oh," I said.

"Oh, you didn't hear about it?" he asked.

"No. How do you find out about these things?"

And he said, "Oh, well, I guess you gotta live here 10 years before you're really on the grapevine."

And I thought, well, we can do better than that and I'm not patient enough to wait around for ten years. So we went ahead with our second apprehensive "cookie attack" and created this concept of a neighborhood online forum. This was back in 2000. We made an initial investment of $15 at the local copy shop and printed up a stack of flyers and delivered them door-to-door. Our neighborhood has 350 households and right away ten percent signed up and then 20 percent and it kept growing. We live in a neighborhood full of active people with something to say. So people saw it as an easy way of being in touch. And then the commerce kicked in and free stuff and, you know; hey, I'm looking for a stroller, has anybody got one they want to get rid of and, you know--kid kind of stuff. And word-of-mouth kicked in.

It took off to the point where six years later we're up to 90 percent of the households participating and when we did a survey, half of them said they've posted a message in the last six months, which is remarkable because with most online services, 99 percent of the people just read and 1 percent post messages; that's the industry norm. And so it's an unusually high degree of participation. And then in 2006 we won a national award. We were on a list of top ten neighborhoods in the country. It struck me as valuable that the reporter went around and talked to as many people as he could in the neighborhood. He came back to me at the end and he said, "You know, the one thing everyone said helped make this neighborhood special is the neighborhood forum. Nowhere else across the country in the ten different great communities was there a consensus on anything. They all had their own ideas. But this is the one place where there's a common thread."

It was at that point we decided to give this a shot and we launched Front Porch Forum.

JB: How do you measure success?

MWL: Ultimately, success is fulfilling our mission. And our mission is all about helping people connect and foster a sense of community in their neighborhood. So success to me is when someone comes up on the street and tells me a story, something about, "Hey, I sold my car." And that's great. We love that direct result through our service. Then they'll say the next part of the sentence, and that's real success: "And now I know more of my neighbors because four of them got in touch with me. And I had a discussion with each one and it turns out one guy lives right across the back fence. We never met each other before and now when we're both working on our yards, we can strike up a conversation, not just wave from a distance."

So it's a little thing on the one hand, but it's huge on the other. It's regaining... really in a very fundamental way, a sense of place.

JB: So a lot of the activity starts online and winds up in backyards and homes? It goes from virtual to actual?

MWL: Yes. Conversations start online and then they move onto the sidewalk or they go from the virtual to the actual front porch. One of the conventional ways to measure success in the dot com world is all about traffic and how many people visit a site and how much time is spent on a site, how many clicks and click-throughs. And those are all important, but ultimately that's not what our mission is about at all. Our mission is about people turning their computers off and going outside and going to the corner store, going to the post office, going to the school, and connecting with their neighbors.

Time and again we see that one posting might result in one or two responses on our service, but then might result in 10 or 20 or 100 exchanges off our service, so sidewalk conversations, people emailing each other directly, phone calls, public meetings. You know, one little message often sparks lots of community discussion.

JB: Tell us how Front Porch Forum has helped someone in your neighborhood?

MWL: There was a couple who were moving across the street, out of a rental upstairs apartment into a house a few doors down and they were going to do it themselves. And they have two young children. They're all set and they realize at the last minute they're going to need help with a few things. So they thought, well, let's see if this works. They put a note on Front Porch Forum, just in their neighborhood, saying, hey, Sunday, two o'clock, if you could help us out, we could use a couple strong backs.

Well, Sunday two o'clock rolls around and 36 neighbors show up and move the entire house in an hour and a half. People got busy. They weren't just having a party. In the old apartment, people were going in and pulling the picture hanging nails out of the wall and spackling--they were just doing everything. They ended up setting up the crib in the new space. That night the couple went to bed and they couldn't fall asleep. The couple ended up staring at the ceiling, asking themselves: What just happened? All the boxes were broken down in the garage and ready to go to the recycling center. But the kicker again here isn't just the wonderful direct result. It's the secondary piece that is even more wonderful; now they can take a walk around the block and recognize 36 of their neighbors.

That's the kind of thing that happens, and that's neighborhood. That's not solving any world crises or anything like that, but it's a fundamental building block.

JB: Roughly, what's the size of a Front Porch Forum neighborhood?

MWL: It turns out that scale is critical in designing these neighborhood forums. If you design it small--for us, that would be 20 or 30 households--it's simply too small to sustain conversation. If you design a neighborhood large--2000 to 3000 households or bigger--then it's too big to bring about the personal connection. So the sweet spot seems to be 200, 300, and up to 500 households, big enough that you definitely would share something in common with some of the other people online. You may know a lot of them, or you may not.

JB: Is Front Porch Forum part of a larger trend? Are there others working on this?

MWL: Yes, it is. If you look at the life of the Internet, people talk about the first big wave being communication--with AOL, Netscape--and the next big wave being commerce--with eBay, Amazon--and that was followed by search--Google, Yahoo!--and now more recently we're all in the middle of social networking--Facebook, MySpace and others. All the future lookers are asking, "What's next?" And many people are coming up with the answer: local.

Everything to date has primarily focused on the global. Most of us, however, spend the vast majority of our time within a few miles of home working, going to school, sleeping, eating, recreating, whatever. And so the notion is, well, what about local? And, in fact, there's millions if not billions of dollars being invested in local, online efforts right now. And the big players are turning toward local--Google and Yahoo! and others. But most of them have what feels like the equivalent of Wal-Mart-as-a-local store approach. Wal-Mart's a local store in that each store is located in a particular town or county. But, of course, it doesn't feel very local. Yahoo! is a local service in your town, but its server is based somewhere else harvesting data from databases. It's very impressive, but it's not here in town. It's not a trusted, local meeting spot. And so, Front Porch Forum is a much smaller subset of global.

JB: What's next for Front Porch Forum?

MWL: We want as many of our neighborhood forums as possible to be successful. So we're going to continue to encourage word-of-mouth. We depend on residents out there to get excited about it and tell their neighbors. And that's how it's worked in all of our successful neighborhoods. And we provide the service if they provide the local participation. So we want to help continue that and have that happen in every Burlington area neighborhood forum. We also are eager to spread this service to other communities and so we're hoping to get to other parts of Vermont and from there even further. We've seen other examples of online services spread themselves too quickly and shut down. There are a number of those. We want to be careful and locally successful, primarily, because that's our mission. We created this service for the benefit of the community where we live. And we want to continue that.

Visit Front Porch Forum at FrontPorchForum.com.

John Barstow is Director of Communications for the Orton Family Foundation, and has been involved in the writing and publishing worlds for nearly thirty years. He lives in Middlebury, VT with his family.

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Easy way to Spread the Word! Front Porch Forum(s)

Results Matter: An eNewsletter from United Way of Chittenden County

Did you ever want to tell lots of people about a fundraiser, volunteer opportunity or community-building event? Well, try this...

Join Front Porch Forum and reach dozens (or even hundreds) of your neighbors by posting a single message. Consider using your neighborhood Front Porch Forum to post notices about any community events, policy discussions and more.

Front Porch Forum hosts 130 online neighborhood forums covering all of Chittenden County. More than 7,500 households subscribe to this free service, including 30% of Burlington. Local couple Michael and Valerie Wood-Lewis launched this site in Burlington's Five Sisters neighborhood in 2000. Now all the great community-building happening through FPF is attracting national recognition.

Michael also suggests that local mission-driven organizations ask everyone in their network to subscribe (each person in his/her own FPF neighborhood forum). "Then when you want to announce your annual fundraiser, or whatever it may be, send your message to all these local contacts and ask each one of them to post your announcement. This is a powerful way to generate a genuine word-of-mouth campaign." Sponsoring agencies also use FPF to get the word out about their programs.

Join the service and the conversation at FrontPorchForum.com or 540-0069.

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Join the Front Porch Conversation

Local Motion's Walk 'n Roll eNews Jan 2008

Did you ever want to tell lots of people about an important cycling or pedestrian event? Well, try this...