I understand why I hadn't heard of this forum yet, I'm far away from the target audience. It looks really fascinating and successful, in its own way.
While Elon Musk’s X and Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta have sought to frame their networks as forums for free speech, Wood-Lewis said he thinks of Front Porch Forum more like a corner pub. If a patron starts making a ruckus, moderators ask him to tone it down — then toss him out if he doesn’t comply.
It does seem like a concept that should be fairly easy to replicate around the world. But I guess it relies in a certain "ad revenue over hourly wage" ratio.
US tech work wages are probably among the highest in the world (if not the highest). Would ad revenue also be relatively high, then? There is probably a difference in everything between metropolitan cities and rural states, but I would still guess that the market leans towards higher tech wages across the US.
I wonder if this concept works well precisely because of its deployment in a more rural state.
I’m proud to have been hired as employee #4 in 2009. It’s inspiring to know that a model for digital civility has persisted and thrived (within Vermont) despite the proliferation of Big Tech. I respect Michael’s decision to keep it small and local, but boy do I wish that every neighbor in the world could experience life with Front Porch Forum!
I understand why I hadn't heard of this forum yet, I'm far away from the target audience. It looks really fascinating and successful, in its own way.
It does seem like a concept that should be fairly easy to replicate around the world. But I guess it relies in a certain "ad revenue over hourly wage" ratio.
US tech work wages are probably among the highest in the world (if not the highest). Would ad revenue also be relatively high, then? There is probably a difference in everything between metropolitan cities and rural states, but I would still guess that the market leans towards higher tech wages across the US.
I wonder if this concept works well precisely because of its deployment in a more rural state.
I’m proud to have been hired as employee #4 in 2009. It’s inspiring to know that a model for digital civility has persisted and thrived (within Vermont) despite the proliferation of Big Tech. I respect Michael’s decision to keep it small and local, but boy do I wish that every neighbor in the world could experience life with Front Porch Forum!
Cool! I hope it continues to thrive and (at a reasonable peace) grow.
Thanks for sharing! This is a nice success story of local, alternative, community-focused social tech.