In Vermont, A Hyper-Local Online Forum Brings Neighbors Together
Around Christmastime, Vermont resident Erin Wagg had a problem. Her family had received a card from a friend in Italy — someone from an old exchange program — and it was written in Italian. "I don't read Italian at all," says Wagg. So she posted about it on a network called the Front Porch Forum, asking if anyone could read and translate the card for her. From her town of Richmond, Vt. (population 4,000), she received more than 20 offers of help.
At a time when many people are connected to hundreds, if not thousands, of people on social media, Front Porch Forum is building smaller networks — of neighbors. Every day, participants get an email including all the postings from other people in their town or city. People report lost dogs or break-ins, recommend babysitters, sell items and raise money for various causes.
In order to take part, members have to be local residents and can't be anonymous. And each person can only join a single forum.
"It's like its own little neighborhood-level Internet," says Michael Wood-Lewis, who founded the Front Porch Forum with his wife, Valerie. They run the company out of their house in Burlington.
It all started when they moved to town and wanted a way to get to know their neighbors. They built a beta version in 2000. Now, 15 years later, the company employs a dozen people and operates statewide. It's free to use, although members might see paid posts by businesses or government officials. And in many communities, Wood-Lewis says, more than half of the households participate.
The forum fosters a different kind of interaction than other online networks like Craigslist, Yelp or Facebook.
"I've been so thrilled at the trust level, because people really begin to see that this is similar to an over-the-fence conversation and typically is the start of a conversation that then gets continued in person," Valerie Wood-Lewis says.
In some social platforms, people have a tendency to build networks by selecting people with similar interests and politics. Tom Macias, a sociologist at the University of Vermont, says Front Porch Forum pushes against that impulse.
"What this is doing is saying, 'Connect to people who you may not have, you know, a lot in common with — but hey, you live next door to them. You should get to know them,' " he says.
Macias has studied neighborly interactions and found that they do a much better job at opening people's minds — and even changing their habits — than more cloistered family or friend groups.
Michael Wood-Lewis says Front Porch Forum fosters that dynamic in more ways than one.
"It's tempting to categorize people by the bumper sticker on their car, or the campaign sign in their front lawn," he says. "Front Porch Forum gives you an opportunity to actually hear from those people. And it might be about a political issue, but it might just be that someone's selling a table saw. And you go down and you talk to them."
During Tropical Storm Irene, which razed parts of Vermont several years ago, the people who'd already connected with their neighbors on Front Porch Forum were much better prepared to mobilize and share supplies, he says.
"We're connected 50 ways to Sunday," Wood-Lewis says. "But if something really bad happens, I want to know my neighbors."
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Transcript
ARUN RATH, HOST:
Around Christmas time, Vermont resident Erin Wagg had a problem. Her family got a card from a friend in Italy - someone from an old exchange program - and it was written in Italian.
ERIN WAGG: I don't read Italian at all. And I think it says Cari, Mike and Nancy, and that's about all I can get (laughter).
RATH: So she posted about it on a small, virtual community bulletin board and her neighbors quickly responded. Vermont Public Radio's Angela Evancie has more about the Front Porch Forum.
ANGELA EVANCIE: Here's how it works - every day, you get an email that lists all the postings from other people in your town or city. You have to be a resident and you can't be anonymous. People report lost dogs or break-ins, recommend babysitters. They sell stuff or raise money for this or that cause, or in Erin Wagg's case...
WAGG: Can anyone read Italian handwriting and can you translate this for me?
EVANCIE: And in her town of Richmond, Vt., population 4,000, she got over 20 offers to help.
WAGG: (Reading) Dear Mike and Nancy, we always remember you with affection. I hope you are all...
EVANCIE: The Front Porch Forum was founded by Michael and Valerie Wood-Lewis. They run the company out of their house in Burlington.
VALERIE WOOD-LEWIS: Hi there.
EVANCIE: Hi there.
MICHAEL WOOD-LEWIS: Come on in, Angela.
EVANCIE: It all started when they moved into town and wanted a way to get to know their neighbors, so they built a beta version in 2000.
M. WOOD-LEWIS: It's like its own little neighborhood-level Internet.
EVANCIE: Now, wherever you live in Vermont, you can join a Front Porch Forum, but only the one for your community - no double-dipping. And 15 years later, the company employs a dozen people.
M. WOOD-LEWIS: Well, in much of the state, more than half of the households participate.
EVANCIE: It's free to use, although members might see paid posts by businesses or government officials. And Michael and Valerie say it fosters a different kind of interaction than other online networks.
M. WOOD-LEWIS: Participating on Front Porch Forum is kind of like speaking up at a block party, where it's your neighbors and everyone's wearing a nametag.
V. WOOD-LEWIS: I've been so thrilled at the trust level because people really begin to see that this is similar to an over-the-fence conversation and typically is the start of a conversation that then gets continued in person.
EVANCIE: So different from Craigslist or Yelp and also from Facebook, where your network is totally self-selected, people who probably share your interests and politics.
TOM MACIAS: And there's a term for that in sociology called homophily, which is the love of people like us.
EVANCIE: Tom Macias is a sociologist at the University of Vermont.
MACIAS: And what this is doing is saying connect to people who you may not have, you know, a lot in common with, but hey, you live next door to them. You should get to know them.
EVANCIE: Macias has studied neighborly attractions and found that they do a much better job at opening people's minds and even changing their habits than more cloistered family or friend groups. Michael Wood-Lewis says the Front Porch Forum fosters that dynamic in more ways than one.
M. WOOD-LEWIS: It's tempting to categorize people by the bumper sticker on their car or the campaign sign in their front lawn. And Front Porch Forum gives you an opportunity to actually hear from those people. And it might be about a political issue, but it might just be that someone's selling a table saw, and you go down and you talk to them.
EVANCIE: There's something to be said for proximity. At the end of our interview, Wood-Lewis started talking about Tropical Storm Irene, which totally razed parts of Vermont several years ago. The people who had already connected with their neighbors on Front Porch Forum were much better prepared to mobilize and share supplies. We're connected 50 ways to Sunday, he told me. But if something really bad happens, I want to know my neighbors. For NPR News, I'm Angela Evancie. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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