Charlene Li likes to tell the story of how Barry Judge, the CMO of Best Buy, launched his official blog. His first post was all of ten words: "Here it is – the first post. Whew glad that's over.."
Li uses the anecdote to reinforce one of her core beliefs, which is that people -- and more specifically, people at companies -- should blog, and they shouldn't overthink how to get started or what to say. Not because the world needs more blogs about just anything, but because companies need to talk about themselves in an honest way. Especially if you're an Internet company.
This is the first post of the official Patch blog, and we're going to go a bit beyond ten words -- but not by much. I think we'll try to live by the Judge-ian example of keeping it short and getting to the point...
Our official mission here is to provide news about and insights into all aspects of what we do at Patch. And maybe tell a joke or two. We make no guarantees that those jokes will actually be funny.
Various members of the team will be contributing -- some more often than others because every company has its slackers. When we launch a new feature, we'll talk about it here. When one of our people does something amazing, we'll likely celebrate it here. When we do something wrong, we'll secretly want to go into denial and pretend nothing happened, but on the outside, we'll probably post about it here, and between the lines, you'll read the guilt and sadness.
So that's it, really. First post done. Whew, etc. You, Joe or Jane Interwebs-User, are welcome and encouraged to post comments and otherwise interact with us via the blog. Ask us anything.
And although it's slightly horse behind the cart, let me end by introducing myself: I'm Brian Farnham, the Editor-in-Chief of Patch. I oversee the editorial operations of all of our individual sites (which are literally growing by the day). I'll be posting a fair amount myself and otherwise keeping things flowing on the blog.
Welcome again, and talk to you soon.
B
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1. Outstanding addition to the Patch family! Congratulations to all those involved with the Patch Blog launch. Well done. Go Patch!
Posted at 1:33PM on Dec 1st 2010 by Bill Gilman
2. Two thumbs up for the blog! Look forward to talking with folks about all things Patch!
Posted at 1:39PM on Dec 1st 2010 by Pem
3. First!
Posted at 1:47PM on Dec 1st 2010 by George Slefo
4. It's always the writing down of the first words that is the hardest. Once you have your lede, you have your story. A blog is no different. Go Patch.
D.
Posted at 2:20PM on Dec 1st 2010 by Dawn Aulet
5. Great blog! Looking forward to the discussion!
Posted at 8:12PM on Dec 1st 2010 by Patrick Lee
6. I'm in the "whew, glad that's over camp." I think it is age related; when in college, my calculator was a 23-scale slide rule, which is in museums right next to the abacus! Looking forward to participating in this adventure.
Posted at 9:04AM on Dec 2nd 2010 by Thomas Cagley
7. Lets get it started !!
Posted at 9:13AM on Dec 2nd 2010 by Mike Johnson
8. I love blogs and I love Patch...by the transitive property I love the Patch Blog!
Posted at 2:42PM on Dec 2nd 2010 by cara.kenefick
9. I already love Patch, and now I'm looking forward to learning more about the company!
Posted at 3:19PM on Dec 2nd 2010 by Suzanna
10. Great blog!
Posted at 9:06AM on Dec 3rd 2010 by Cindy Zakalik
11. YAY for the Patch blog!
I am so excited to be part of this amazing Patch adventure and can't wait to get to work!
Posted at 10:41AM on Dec 7th 2010 by Heather
12. Glad to see a good local blog. Hopefully there will be some helpful information here. I'm trying to make it in the real estate market and would like to know more about the area. I live in Dacula
Posted at 1:42PM on Jan 6th 2011 by charles.corriveau
13. I just took a class on becoming a tech savvy real estate agent. Blogging was highly recommended for businesses to maximize their presence in the market. It did not matter whether you were a Fortune 500 company or a mom and pop shop. I have been hesitant with the technology and really appreciate Barry Judges..."whew glad that's over" statement. I coudn't have said it any better. Brian... www.greenwoodrealproperties.com
Posted at 4:58PM on Jan 6th 2011 by Brian Greenwood
14. This is wonderful!
Posted at 11:12AM on Feb 16th 2011 by Gina Mahoney
15. My granddaughter, Natalie, is on the cheerleading team which came in second place (flemington first) in the national competition in disney world, florida, this past sunday, february 13, 2011, and I can not find any mention of this historic event in any of the newspapers. If anyone knows if and where this historic event is documented, please let me know. Thank You
Posted at 10:57AM on Feb 16th 2011 by old tom langhorne
16. I was asked to get in touch with Chris by your reporter at whole-foods last nite.It's in reference to having built an orphanage in Uganda while having an auto-immune disease.This was out of pocket and to honor my recently deceased mother and my Lord.There are 43 kids now with 140 more in a boarding school.My web site will be up next week if you wish to see pictures.My name is George and my email is doprah@optonline.net.I call myself doprah the male Oprah who helps people like she does but without the millions.They are not necessary but very helpful haha.Oh ya the web site will be Joan's Home[my mom's name]
Posted at 4:34PM on Feb 26th 2011 by George