Community Corner

Editor's Notebook: Patch Celebrates its 100th Site Launch

As Patch reaches a milestone, a look back at the first eight months of Merrick Patch.

The court officer summoned me to the front row and asked me where I was from.

I said, "I'm with Patch.com."

"Match.com?" she asked on the Tuesday afternoon in March.

Find out what's happening in Merrickwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

A few people in the Hempstead courtroom chuckled.  So did I. 

A half hour later, while I was typing up a story on a bench outside, that same court officer came up to me and asked again where I was from. I explained the Patch concept, handed her my business card and she said,"Sounds interesting." 

Find out what's happening in Merrickwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

It's a story I frequently tell to prospective Patch editors across the country to explain that typical reaction to the site: a bit skeptical, a bit intrigued and once people learn more, often fans.

At 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, Patch launched its 100th site in Morristown, N.J.  Since the first Patch sites went live simultaneously in three New Jersey towns–Maplewood, South Orange and Millburn-Short Hills–in February 2009, we have collectively produced more than 55,000 articles and nearly 1 million photos. 

Some more facts: Patch was founded in February of 2008 in New York City. The company was acquired by AOL in June 2009; AOL has since invested $50 million in Patch. There are now Patch sites in nine states, spanning from New York to California.

Merrick Patch was the 19th Patch site and the first in New York when it went live on Dec. 10, 2009. Being the first in the state felt cool, what an honor, I thought. 

Then I started calling people to collect information for our directory listings and reality began to set in. I would call the local school districts, ask them how many students attended the schools, what the faculty to student ratio was, etc… 

Who is this? Patch is what? It's only online?  Is this for a blog?

For several months, as I attended event after event in Merrick, there were four words that were uttered constantly whenever I told someone I was from Patch.

Never heard of it. 

Although the site drew decent traffic from the start, for a while there, I felt like I was writing a personal diary about everything that happened in Merrick. 

Somewhere along the past eight months, though, and I don't remember exactly when, Merrick Patch became part of the community dialogue.  Instead of wracking my brain for story ideas every night, residents began sending me news tips, announcements, photos from little league games…

On Tuesday, Morristown begins that same journey: convincing a town that Patch isn't just some corporate venture being funded with big AOL bucks, but a legitimate news organization dedicated to uniting communities through information. 

As a company, Patch is still growing and learning along the way.  As an editor, I am doing the same. 

There are not many people left in Merrick who haven't heard of Patch. That's gratifying in the sense that hearing people say, "Hey, you're the Patch guy, right?" is much better than "Hey, who are you? Why are you taking pictures of me?"

At the same time, though, more eyes on Patch means more pressure to get things right, to make sure we cover issues fairly and to be the source for up-to-the-minute info for all things Merrick. I believe we are up to the challenge.

As for that Hempstead court officer, I hope she's a dedicated Patch user by now and told all of her friends about Patch.   Just to be sure, though, the next time I'm in First District Court in Hempstead, I will be sporting my Patch T-shirt.

There are a lot of misconceptions about Patch, but I can't have people thinking I work for an online dating site.  Oh, now that I think about it, did you just get an engaged? Planning a wedding? Post the news in our announcements section!  

Too excited about Patch? Guilty as charged. Happy 100th site, Patch, and here's to hundreds more.  

 


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