In this rural and highly progressive state in the northeastern United States, a local social media platform called Front Porch Forum has managed to rival Facebook and Instagram. It's a low-tech, algorithm-free, neighborhood-centered alternative.
The site doesn’t even allow you to “like” posts. “It seemed to us to be a kind of high school popularity contest, a way of creating a dependency on the platform,” said the founder, holding a mug of tea.
On Facebook, Instagram or X, likes are also used to help algorithms identify users. Here, there’s no need: There’s no algorithm. “On Front Porch Forum, content isn’t infinite, so we don’t have to choose what we show,” said Wood-Lewis. Doomscrolling – mindlessly consuming a flood of negative news – is impossible here: Browsing through the posts takes just 10 minutes.
“Sometimes nothing much happens, just like in real life.”
Sounds lovely!