We are thrilled to announce that Patch has become the #4 local and regional property, according to comScore's December rankings, up from #10 at the beginning of 2011. This UV growth continued in December despite a seasonal decrease among many other local and regional sites. Patch launched less than 3 years ago, and the average age of Patch sites is less than 14 months old - so you can imagine how proud we are of this accomplishment. It is truly a testament to the hard work of our teams in communities across America. Most importantly it shows that Patch continues to engage and connect with residents of towns, which, after all, is where we are focused day and night. Go Patch!
Patch shoots up the charts to #4 local site
Continue reading Patch shoots up the charts to #4 local site
CNN taps Patch for local expertise at New Hampshire primary
All politics is local, as they say, and there's nothing more local than Patch. One of the things we're most excited about in 2012 is the unprecedented neighborhood-level coverage that over 900 Patch journalists across the country will serve up during election season. This morning, our own Dan Tuohy in New Hampshire was interviewed on CNN as a local authority on what's happening in NH in the days leading up to the primary. Be sure to watch it here, and stay tuned for much more election coverage spanning local, regional and national races!
Continue reading CNN taps Patch for local expertise at New Hampshire primary
Patchers Give 5 (Again!)
While it's so important to give back all year, it is especially meaningful to help those in need during the holiday season. For Give 5 day, an initiative across all of Patch where employees take a day to give back to the very communities they serve, we heard some amazing stories from Patchers across the country. Here are a few of their stories:
In a collective Give 5 effort, almost all Patchers in one CT region (that's 16 editors!) volunteered at the Foodshare warehouse in Bloomfield, Connecticut. Foodshare is a non-profit that serves a 42-town area in Connecticut, collects frozen turkeys, non-perishable food items, and cash every year around the holidays to help those in need. In addition to providing coverage to the cause on their respective Patch sites, these Patchers logged many hours on-site at the Foodshare warehouse, collecting turkeys and other canned goods from the many donators. Awesome work everyone!
In a collective Give 5 effort, almost all Patchers in one CT region (that's 16 editors!) volunteered at the Foodshare warehouse in Bloomfield, Connecticut. Foodshare is a non-profit that serves a 42-town area in Connecticut, collects frozen turkeys, non-perishable food items, and cash every year around the holidays to help those in need. In addition to providing coverage to the cause on their respective Patch sites, these Patchers logged many hours on-site at the Foodshare warehouse, collecting turkeys and other canned goods from the many donators. Awesome work everyone!
David Moran (Local Editor, Manchester) slinging Turkeys at the Foodshare Warehouse.
Regional Editor Megan Bard Morse gets enthusiastic with The Granbys Local Editor Ted Glanzer during their volunteer time.
Senior Advertising Manager Lee R. DeLay III donated Patch swag to the Poway, Calif. 3rd Annual Shop Hop: an auction benefiting Pomerado Elementary Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to fundraising for Pomerado Elementary School. His efforts were met with much gratitude from the event organizers, who were pleased to share that they exceeded their monetary goal for the auction. Lee also donated advertising space for the Shop Hop, which event organizers directly contributed to higher traffic for the event. Way to go!
A Group Shot of the "Shop Hop."
Though this next one is in fact a Thanksgiving story of Patchy awesomeness, it is not a Give 5 day charitable example (we're including it because we love the passing along of that much green goodness!). Greater Boston Regional Editor Mark Micheli and Boston ARE Roberto Scalese set up a Patch booth at a huge high school Thanksgiving-day football game. He was able to hand out tons of Patch swag, sign oodles of people up for the newsletter, and even gave away some 500 cups of hot cocoa (all in Patch cups, of course!). And get this - the game started at 10 a.m. and the hot cocoa was gone by 10:30 a.m.! That means Patch green was warming the hands of hundreds of spectators in the crowd. Maybe it's just us, but we think Patch was the real winner of this game!
Regional Editor Mark Micheli, his wife, and Boston ARE Robert Scalese at their Patch Booth!
There you have it, Patchers sharing the love in many different ways. Patch employees - think you have an awesome Give 5/Patch sharing story that was not included in this post? Comment below, we'd love to hear about it!
Hark! Were those wedding bells?!
Congratulations to Jared Ranere, Patch's Product Manager, on his recent marriage to Amanda McCroskery! The wedding took place October 15, 2011, on Shelter Island, which is located at the eastern end of Long Island, NY. The ceremony finished with a flourish: a second line band, led by Treme's Jonathan Batiste, burst into the chapel and then led a parade into the reception, which included Jared tap-dancing in the couple's first dance.
Congrats to Mr. and Mrs. Ranere, from the whole Patch family!
Congrats to Mr. and Mrs. Ranere, from the whole Patch family!
Patch Editors Give 5 to Help Repair Hurricane Irene Damage
On November 3, Patch editors from throughout Montgomery County, PA, visited Pennypack Ecological Restoration Trust, to assist with repairs on the Pennypack Preserve in the continuing recovery after Hurricane Irene. This was part of Patch's Give 5 program, through which Patchers donate 5 days a year to volunteering in their communities.
In the aftermath of the August hurricane, residents spoke with Patch Local Editor Gerry Dungan about the damage to trees and from flooding in the area. Dungan and his colleagues knew the rebuilding process would be a long and challenging one, so it felt like a great fit to use their Give 5 day toward this effort.
In the aftermath of the August hurricane, residents spoke with Patch Local Editor Gerry Dungan about the damage to trees and from flooding in the area. Dungan and his colleagues knew the rebuilding process would be a long and challenging one, so it felt like a great fit to use their Give 5 day toward this effort.
Restoration Manager Chris Dartley must have predicted how passionate these Patchers would be about lending a hand; upon their arrival, he told them, "We saved the biggest problem for you guys. We heard we had some muscle coming in, so we saved it for you." By the end of the event, the Patch editors were able to straighten and support nearly 100 trees downed during flooding.
As Tony DiDomizio, Local Editor of Montgomeryville-Landsdale Patch, summed up, "It was a great Give 5 and we'd love to do it again." Check out video and photos of these editors in action here.
Patch Editors Give 5 (from left, back row) Leann Pettit, Local Editor, Ambler Patch; Tony DiDomizio, LE, Lansdale Patch; James Myers, LE, Norristown Patch; Melissa Treacy, Regional Editor; David Powell, Associate Regional Editor; (middle) Ann Cornell, LE, Perkiomen Valley Patch; Kyle Bagenstose, LE, Upper Dublin Patch; (front) Gerry Dungan, LE, Upper Moreland Patch.
Continue reading Patch Editors Give 5 to Help Repair Hurricane Irene Damage
A Patchy Proposal
Congratulations to Chris DePatria, one of the leaders of the Patch sales team, on his recent engagement to Kristen Licastro!
Up, up and away for some CA Patchers
Patch editors are known to be bold, fearless, and open to new experiences, but how's this for going above and beyond - literally?! Aldrin Brown, Regional Editor for California's Inland Empire cluster l, Editors Nancy Wride (Belmont Shore-Naples Patch), Guy McCarthy (Banning-Beaumont Patch), Toni McAllister (Lake Elsinore-Wildomar Patch), Hazel Lodevico-To'o (Glendora Patch) and MarieSam Sanchez (Cerritos-Artesia Patch) defied the laws of gravity a couple of weeks ago during a team outing. How is that possible, you ask? These Patchers went to Universal Citywalk and used iFLY, a skydiving simulator machine that uses a vertical wind tunnel to help suspend people in mid-air. If you don't believe us, we have a video to prove it.
Looks like it was a great time, but we're glad they're back on earth. We need them down here.
Looks like it was a great time, but we're glad they're back on earth. We need them down here.
A Patchy Halloween
What's not to love about Halloween? It's the only time that you're allowed to eat candy until your teeth fall out. But the best part of Halloween is the awesome costume parties, obvi. One creative Patcher at HQ didn't need to look far for inspiration. Christian Perkins, Operations Supervisor for Directory (on left, with Lam Tran, Sales Operations Coordinator, on the right), showed up at our Halloween shindig dressed up as none other than Brian Farnham, Patch's Editor-In-Chief. From Brian's trademark swagger to his fashionably mussed blonde coif, we think Christian really hit the mark. Or the Brian, as the case may be.
Other costumes give Patchers the chance to throw on even more than a wig and sweater-vest. Emily Cappiello, Local Editor for Merrick Patch, threw a fabulous Halloween Party, where Mike Ganci, Local Editor for East Meadow Patch, showed up as Mario from Super Mario Brothers, and Christine Sampson, Local Editor for Three Village Patch came as Katy Perry. We hear Fake Katy is contributing a song to Fake Mario's new biopic. Exciting!
Other costumes give Patchers the chance to throw on even more than a wig and sweater-vest. Emily Cappiello, Local Editor for Merrick Patch, threw a fabulous Halloween Party, where Mike Ganci, Local Editor for East Meadow Patch, showed up as Mario from Super Mario Brothers, and Christine Sampson, Local Editor for Three Village Patch came as Katy Perry. We hear Fake Katy is contributing a song to Fake Mario's new biopic. Exciting!
Who's the Most Creative 'Little Pumpkin' In All of Patchland? Heidi Klum Teams Up with Patch For Halloween Contest
Who's the Most Creative 'Little Pumpkin' In All of Patchland?
Heidi Klum Teams Up with Patch For Halloween Contest
Patchers tend to be pretty cool characters (at least that's what we tell ourselves). But even we are beyond excited about our new Halloween costume contest with none other than multihyphenate superstar Heidi Klum!
The model, TV star, entrepreneur and mother of her own four trick-or-treaters feels the same way about Halloween that we feel about candy corn: we can never get enough, and we wish it were around all year, not just in October. That's why this Halloween, Heidi and Patch are teaming up for "Patch's Little Pumpkin Costume Challenge"! With a committee of highly trained Halloween costume experts (drawn from our editors in over 850 towns coast to coast) choosing the ten most creative kids' costumes, Heidi will select the grand prize winner, who will be flown to New York City or Los Angeles for a 3-day, 2-night getaway for 2...including a meet-and-greet with The Queen of Halloween herself, Heidi Klum!
Since Patch is all about giving back to our communities, each of the nine runners-up and the grand prize winner will receive $1031 (get it?! 10/31! Halloween!) to donate to a local charity of his or her choice.
What more could you ask for (other than, y'know, more candy corn)?! It's fun, creative, a chance to show off how adorable your kids are, and all for a darn good cause. And speaking of good causes, please support Heidi's efforts to feed the hungry by visiting Trick of Treat for UNICEF (and find more of Heidi's Halloween favorites at heidiklum.aol.com).
Check out this video from one of our Patch sites for more info...All you have to do to get started is visit Patch.com, select the state you live in, and click on the name of your town! And through 9 pm on October 31, 2011, upload a photo of your child, 12 years of age or younger, in his or her Halloween costume. Full rules are here.
Happy Halloween, all...and, of course, boo! (We hope that wasn't too terrifying.)
The model, TV star, entrepreneur and mother of her own four trick-or-treaters feels the same way about Halloween that we feel about candy corn: we can never get enough, and we wish it were around all year, not just in October. That's why this Halloween, Heidi and Patch are teaming up for "Patch's Little Pumpkin Costume Challenge"! With a committee of highly trained Halloween costume experts (drawn from our editors in over 850 towns coast to coast) choosing the ten most creative kids' costumes, Heidi will select the grand prize winner, who will be flown to New York City or Los Angeles for a 3-day, 2-night getaway for 2...including a meet-and-greet with The Queen of Halloween herself, Heidi Klum!
Since Patch is all about giving back to our communities, each of the nine runners-up and the grand prize winner will receive $1031 (get it?! 10/31! Halloween!) to donate to a local charity of his or her choice.
What more could you ask for (other than, y'know, more candy corn)?! It's fun, creative, a chance to show off how adorable your kids are, and all for a darn good cause. And speaking of good causes, please support Heidi's efforts to feed the hungry by visiting Trick of Treat for UNICEF (and find more of Heidi's Halloween favorites at heidiklum.aol.com).
Check out this video from one of our Patch sites for more info...All you have to do to get started is visit Patch.com, select the state you live in, and click on the name of your town! And through 9 pm on October 31, 2011, upload a photo of your child, 12 years of age or younger, in his or her Halloween costume. Full rules are here.
Happy Halloween, all...and, of course, boo! (We hope that wasn't too terrifying.)
Patchers Give 5 - Let Them Inspire You!
The "Give 5" days are some of our favorites here at Patch; we love hearing about the experiences our teams have volunteering in their communities! We thought we'd share some details about the most recent round of Give 5 goodness...
Local editor Robert Edward Healy III (Baldwin-Whitehall Patch) spent his Give 5 day with the brave men and women of Baldwin Independent Fire Company No. 1. To read about his eye-opening adventure (and to see even more pics of Mr. Healy decked out in full firefighting garb!) check out the full story.
Robert Edward Healy in full firefighter gear
Los Gatos Local Editor Sheila Sanchez dutifully assisted residents of Santa Clara County (CA) by picking up trash and beautifying the streets and waters of the community. Coordinated by the Creek Connections Action Group, Sheila worked to clean up Campbell, Los Gatos Creek, Creekside Way upstream to PG&E station and 300' downstream. Way to go, Sheila!
A huge thanks to all of our Patchers who participated in the latest Give 5 day - you've done us proud! Whether issuing a public call to action for donations to our troops, or reporting on communities coming together to help build a home for a grateful family, you're making a difference in immeasurable ways. And our hope is that these stories can drive awareness to each organization, and might even inspire some new volunteers. Here's to a ripple effect of goodwill!
Local editor Robert Edward Healy III (Baldwin-Whitehall Patch) spent his Give 5 day with the brave men and women of Baldwin Independent Fire Company No. 1. To read about his eye-opening adventure (and to see even more pics of Mr. Healy decked out in full firefighting garb!) check out the full story.
Robert Edward Healy in full firefighter gear
Los Gatos Local Editor Sheila Sanchez dutifully assisted residents of Santa Clara County (CA) by picking up trash and beautifying the streets and waters of the community. Coordinated by the Creek Connections Action Group, Sheila worked to clean up Campbell, Los Gatos Creek, Creekside Way upstream to PG&E station and 300' downstream. Way to go, Sheila!
Cathy Deering from Shakopee Patch (MN) lent a hand at her local Habitat for Humanity. Alongside the Shakopee Chamber, City Council member Mike Beard, and other Shakopee residents, Cathy worked hard to help build a house for a family in need - and it looks like she did a great job!
Cathy Deering helps install a new floor
The Marrimack Valley editors show off their packages for the troopsCathy Deering helps install a new floor
The Merrimack Valley (MA) Patch Editors including Regional Editor Les Masterson, Andover Patch Editor Brendan Lewis, North Andover Patch Editor Bryan McGonigle, North Reading Patch Editor Ashley Troutman, and Chelmsford Patch Editor Krista Perry held an open call for care package items to send to troops overseas. The community response was overwhelming; these awesome Patchers spent an entire day gathering and assembling care packages to be shipped off to our troops. They were able to send five boxes jam-packed with necessities - shampoo, toothpaste, soap, and some fun stuff too! Check out more details on their Give 5 project here.
A huge thanks to all of our Patchers who participated in the latest Give 5 day - you've done us proud! Whether issuing a public call to action for donations to our troops, or reporting on communities coming together to help build a home for a grateful family, you're making a difference in immeasurable ways. And our hope is that these stories can drive awareness to each organization, and might even inspire some new volunteers. Here's to a ripple effect of goodwill!
Live Patchy or Die!
If we had a "Way To Patch It Up!" award, this week's trophy would definitely go to a few of our editors from New Hampshire. Local Editors Carol Robidoux (Nashua Patch), Ryan O'Connor (Bedford Patch), Carolyn Dube (Merrimack Patch), Robert Michaelson (Amherst Patch), and Regional Editor Marc Fortier recently took the time to share all things Patch at the Merrimack Business Expo.
Because the New Hampshire Patch sites are still babies (only about four months old!), these editors pounced on the opportunity to get the word out at a local expo that typically draws upwards of 7,000 attendees in the regionally central locale of Merrimack. In a booth decked out in our signature green color and chock full of Patch swag, the NH editors were able to hand out a few hundred "Patch is here" flyers and signed up oodles of new Patch readers to their respective newsletters.
"I think the best part of the day was sending people away from the table who seemed genuinely energized at the idea of what Patch can do in their communities," says Merrimack Local Editor Carolyn Dube. "...[T]hat and the people who came up to us and told us how much they love Patch!" she added.
See what we mean? These guys make Patch look good. No, not good...Patchtastic.
Because the New Hampshire Patch sites are still babies (only about four months old!), these editors pounced on the opportunity to get the word out at a local expo that typically draws upwards of 7,000 attendees in the regionally central locale of Merrimack. In a booth decked out in our signature green color and chock full of Patch swag, the NH editors were able to hand out a few hundred "Patch is here" flyers and signed up oodles of new Patch readers to their respective newsletters.
"I think the best part of the day was sending people away from the table who seemed genuinely energized at the idea of what Patch can do in their communities," says Merrimack Local Editor Carolyn Dube. "...[T]hat and the people who came up to us and told us how much they love Patch!" she added.
See what we mean? These guys make Patch look good. No, not good...Patchtastic.
From left: Carol Robidoux, Nashua Patch; Ryan O'Connor, Bedford Patch; and Carolyn Dube, Merrimack Patch
Amherst LE Robert Michaelson and Merrimack LE Carolyn Dube hand out some Patch swag
Patch advertisers tell us what they think -- on video!
Here at Patch we often say we serve three groups of people: our users, our advertisers, and our employees. We work hard to foster and maintain the best relationships we can with all three groups, and love to hear feedback to help us do that. We receive hundreds of emails, comments, and Facebook posts each week telling us how people use Patch, what they like about it (I love those!), and how Patch plays a role in their daily lives. We've also been fortunate to receive a lot of feedback from our local advertisers, some of which we've collected and posted on YouTube. From auto repairs to chiropractic work, from fine cuisine to yoga, these Patch businesses are owned by people who are also Patch users - so we take our commitment to them very seriously. We hope you enjoy hearing what they have to say about advertising on Patch - and that you'll stop by and give them your business if you happen to live in their area!
Continue reading Patch advertisers tell us what they think -- on video!
Patch Celebrates Shea Day
Chris Shea, a software engineer at Patch, is the ultimate sartorial pragmatist. Instead of wasting time picking out an outfit, he wears the same uniform every day:
- Bed head
- Black round plastic glasses
- Friendly smirk
- 1-5 days of stubble
- UNIQLO black crewneck t-shirt
- Levi 507 jeans
- Black Converse low-tops
Every year for his birthday, Chris's co-workers dress up for his birthday, which we've come to refer to as Shea Day. We had a great turnout for Fake Chris Sheas this year:
The whole Patch team dressed as Chris Shea
Members of Chris's project team had the greatest enthusiasm for the holiday.
Something to celebrate.
One of the benefits of an online business is having access to a lot of numbers. The Internet runs on computers and computers run on numbers, so everything you do can be counted, usually in five different ways. And when your online business is words, stories, conversations and information -- like it is at Patch -- the numbers can get interesting.
For instance, across our 850+ sites, we publish a new piece of original content every 12 seconds. That stat persistently wows me, because it speaks to the work our nearly 1,000 editors put in every day. (It also always reminds me of an old Saturday Night Live "news report" about how a man is mugged every 11 seconds in New York. Cut to street reporter standing with hapless interviewee: "And here is that man.")
But we recently encountered a big number. One million. As in, Patch has now produced one million articles. That adds up to over 382 million words. All that in just 30 months, and with over 600 of our sites having launched in the last eight months. (Another number we love? 391. That's how many articles we've published about lost pets - and in many cases, we've heard that our stories helped reunite those pets with their owners. Woof.)
For instance, across our 850+ sites, we publish a new piece of original content every 12 seconds. That stat persistently wows me, because it speaks to the work our nearly 1,000 editors put in every day. (It also always reminds me of an old Saturday Night Live "news report" about how a man is mugged every 11 seconds in New York. Cut to street reporter standing with hapless interviewee: "And here is that man.")
But we recently encountered a big number. One million. As in, Patch has now produced one million articles. That adds up to over 382 million words. All that in just 30 months, and with over 600 of our sites having launched in the last eight months. (Another number we love? 391. That's how many articles we've published about lost pets - and in many cases, we've heard that our stories helped reunite those pets with their owners. Woof.)
High Five for Patchers Who Gave 5
Five times a year, Patchers donate a day of their time to help out their community. We've got some great recent examples of this to share, and we're hoping it may even inspire you to lend a hand in your own community!
