Online Social Networking Meets Old Time Neighborhood Networking

An interesting one man band in Burlington, VT is setting up an online social network focused on real world social networks of yore: neighborhoods.  Apparently some 20 percent of all of the residents of Burlington have joined the Front Porch Forum.  To me, that's a staggering statistic and once again demonstrates that online communications tools serve as an add-on, not a replacement, for real world communication and relationships. 

Robert Scoble conducted an interview with the founder of this company, Michael Wood-Lewis, and explored how the company came to be and where it is headed.  The fact that this sort of adoption has taken place with no formal marketing and just a single employee (and apparently some web development contracting) is remarkable.

I have embedded Scoble's video here:

Technorati tags: Front Porch Forum, Michael Wood-Lewis, Robert Scoble, PodTech, ScobleShow, Burlington, Vermont, neighborhoods

Comments

[Michael Wood-Lewis]

Thanks for the mention, Chip. We're excited about Front Porch Forum's early success in our pilot area and are hopeful about helping more folks connect with their neighbors in lots of other places. Cheers. -Michael