Helping businesses and nonprofits in small VT towns use online tools to spur economic development and improve disaster resilience.
Vermont’s emergency managers have embraced social media and digital communications to keep Vermonters as informed as possible and recently added messages on Front Porch Forum to their outreach strategy. That’s why we asked Mark Bosma, the Vermont Department of Emergency Management & Homeland Security (DEMHS) Public Information Officer, to tell us more about this strategy.…
This Piano came from the famed Weston Playhouse in Weston, Vermont. It is Vermont’s oldest professional theater (est. 1935) and is a living testament to a community’s belief in the arts. On a snowy Valentine’s Day afternoon, more than a dozen people met at the Vermont History Center in the Vermont Historical Society building in…
There is a term that developers refer to when building websites called usability. The basic premise involves creating websites that are easy to navigate, as well as being full of useful information and having a “pretty” look and feel. After all, even if you have a beautiful looking website with rich content, if the…
Last year, VCRD completed a 6-month Community Visit in the southern Vermont town of Manchester. This process helped Manchester residents whittle 22 issues and ideas about how to focus community efforts to build a better Manchester by 2020 into four priorities for future action. One of these priorities is to Attract Higher Education Opportunities. The…
Maybe you’ve noticed, but our website just got an overhaul. The old VCRD home page vs the new VCRD home page Throughout the Vermont Digital Economy Project, we have been working with nonprofits and small Vermont businesses to help them to take advantage of online tools, and to present themselves professionally and effectively online. One…
This article was written by Christine Friese, Assistant State Librarian The Computers at Rutland Free Library get a lot of use, from people seeking Lauren’s help to a troop of Boy Scouts! Lauren DuQuette is a digital literacy super hero. Most of the time, she is a college student in Liberal Studies, but several hours…
Call it the polar vortex, an arctic blast, or just call it winter. Whatever its name, the recent spate of cold weather has been making a lot of headlines, and it’s made it tough to work on our Wi-Fi zone installations. When the temperatures are in the negatives, cable casings get brittle, and fingers get…
This article was written by Patrick Ripley, Director of e-Commerce at the Vermont Small Business Development Center (VtSBDC) After many patient months preparing, Blu-Bin, Vermont’s 3D Printing Shop, opened its doors late last year with an innovative concept aimed at providing Vermont’s creative and entrepreneurial communities an outlet to affordably and easily make their ideas…
Digital tools have become essential to farmers. From Amanda Andrews at Tamarack Hollow Farm, who used Kickstarter.com to raising the necessary funds to move her farm off of a flood plain and is using Instagram to promote the farm, to Eric Rozendaal of Rockville Market Farm, who, in addition to Facebook and Twitter, also uses…
Free digital skills training has been available in the Rutland area for the past several months, made possible by a generous donation from Microsoft to the Vermont Digital Economy Project. Two additional Vermont training sites are going to be up-and-running soon, making this a great time to update you on the importance of increasing your…