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

Though you may still be still be getting used to Patch being in San Anselmo and Fairfax, or you may have only recently found us -- hi! -- the fact is Patch is 100 today. 

That is, 100 communities strong.

Founded in 2008, Patch started way over on the East Coast. The first Patch websites hoped to bring community news and coverage to small towns in New York and New Jersey. AOL acquired the company in June 2009 and is now investing $50 million in expanding Patch to new cities, regions and states.

That's where we come in. 

The San Anselmo-Fairfax site launched just 18 short (but oh, so, so busy) days ago. In Marin, there's also San Rafael and Mill Valley Patch sites. [And a soon to come, Novato site.] In the Bay Area, you may not be aware, there's nine Patch sites in a variety of communities and way, way more coming.

And, today, nationwide, Patch launched its 100th site.

Which, sort of, kind of, makes you part of this 100th celebration. (We were the 95th site, I believe.) Happy 100 to you!

We're still working out some of the kinks here -- 100 is not so old you have everything all figured out yet -- so I wanted to introduce you to some of the features you can take advantage of.

• Comments: See that box down there, at the bottom. It says, "Leave a Comment." Go ahead, try it out. I know we're not a quiet community here. We have tons of opinions. Some of you have even been emailing me your opinions, comments and questions, but then you're really just limiting yourself to one set of ears - mine - and why would you want to do that when you could reach so many more people. So, go ahead, type something in that box and see what happens.
• Newsletters: Over on the right hand side of this article, scroll down, below the ad for a part-time accountant in Fairfax, it says "Stay in Touch with Patch." Clicking one of those boxes - Daily Newsletter, Weekly Newsletter, or Breaking News Alert - does exactly what you think it would. It sends you a daily morning newsletter of all the new stories, a weekly newsletter, or just an email every time there's a breaking news alert. You can always subscribe to our RSS feed too, if you really just can't live without your Patch.
• Announcements: But, how, how, you ask, can you submit things to the site? Do you need to email me? No! You can submit your own announcements about events, weddings, births, obituaries, kids graduating, little league awards, anything you want, without having to pay a fee or go through a fancy editor. Just click on the green button underneath the stories on the homepage that says, "Add your own announcement" and it'll be added.
• Twitter and Facebook: This is the Internet, after all, so why limit yourself to just one website. We post all our news, tidbits, hot tips, and links on our Twitter page. And you can also friend Patch on Facebook.

Along with these great features, here in San Anselmo and Fairfax we'll be doing regular weekly features you should keep your eyes out for.

Mondays: Don't forget to answer the Question of the Week (though yesterday's was a little late -- more like Tueday's question of the week).
Tuesdays: Check out our Business of the Week, featuring different local businesses doing outstanding things in the community.
Wednesdays: We'll have our regular health columnist, who right now is focusing on getting your kids back to school.
Thursdays: This week we'll be starting what I hope will be a very popular Hike of the Week recommendation. You definitely don't want to miss these hikes to explore over the weekend.
Saturday: Our Weekend Update keeps you up to date on all the news you might have missed while you had your nose to the grind.
Sunday: Every week, we'll feature a Photo of the Week as we build a gallery of life in town. You can always add your own photos!

Let us know if you have any suggestions, problems, ideas or thoughts on what we can do better. While we may be 100, here in San Anselmo and Fairfax we've only just started out. Thanks for checking us out. Welcome and a happy 100 to you!