Helping businesses and nonprofits in small VT towns use online tools to spur economic development and improve disaster resilience.
The graphic above is used in the UK’s small business digital skills survey Vermont’s Digital Skills Roundtable was formed last year to discuss our readiness to fully utilize the power of the Internet not just at the basic level, but also at the highest levels. The third meeting took place last month and the diverse…
“There’s only so much time in a day!” That’s a common response from my nonprofit clients when I advise them that their community organization should be posting on Facebook 3 to 5 times every week. And, to be honest, many of them are ready to completely give up when I get around to explaining how…
[highlight_404_links]This article was written by Tess Gauthier, Project Coordinator at the Snelling Center for Government The Snelling Center for Government (SCG) is building local government capacity and better engaging citizens in local affairs throughout Vermont. Through our partnership in the Vermont Digital Economy Project, SCG has already launched 15 municipal websites so far in Vermont’s flood impacted towns. By the…
Our project has highlighted the role and power of social media, especially Facebook, in assisting both nonprofit organizations and small businesses in expanding their audience, getting donations, and increasing sales revenue. It has also touted the role that Front Porch Forum can play in bringing a community closer to together. Lately, I’ve been thinking about…
This past Saturday at the ACORN Sustainable Living Expo, I presented with Michael Wood-Lewis, co-founder of Front Porch Forum, on the question of how technology interacts with community to create sustainability. The discussion was rich with concepts and thoughts, and our attendees presented us with a number of inputs and opinions as well, which I…
Many organizations assume that when they post something to their organization’s Facebook page, everyone who has liked the page will see it. This is not the case. Just as your Facebook friends don’t see everything you post, neither do the fans of your page. In fact, late last year, Facebook tweaked its algorithm for determining…
by Eric Sakai, Community College of Vermont A couple of years ago, my then-85-year-old mother called me from California in a panic to tell me, “They took away my inbox!” Email was the one internet resource she had more or less figured out on her shiny new iMac computer, because it’s the one resource she…
Last December the Vermont Department of Libraries and the Vermont Telecommunications Authority (VTA) convened a roundtable discussion with a diverse group. It focused on the need for Vermonters to have digital skills in order to thrive and participate in the greater online community. I was proud to be included among the group of 19 individuals…
Since we started this project, we have been working hard to implement Wi-Fi zones and Hotspots in towns across the state. We now have 17 active Zones and Hotspots (some of which are still in progress), using a total of 33 pieces of equipment, so we thought it was a good time to look back…
by Nancy Shuttleworth, VtSBDC E-commerce Business Advisor Online tools may not be at the start of every new business, but once a business is up and running, the importance of having an online presence becomes clear. After two years of planning and considering the best location for a cheese production location, Nicki Foster and Julie…