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

Arlington Patch was one of the first Patch sites in the Boston area when it launched in late April.

Now, four months later, there are 13 local sites in the area, in neighboring towns like Belmont and Lexington, and many more on the way.

Massachusetts, however, is just one of nine states where Patch sites are on the rise, and, today, Patch is launching its 100th site nationally, about two-and-a-half years after the company set out to change the way local news is covered.

Patch started in New York City in February 2008 and began launching sites in nearby New Jersey the following year. In June 2009, Patch was acquired by AOL, and, since then, it has grown exponentially, with AOL investing $50 million in the local news content.

In all, Patch editors and correspondents have authored more than 55,000 articles and taken nearly 1 million photographs – I am obviously responsible for a very small percentage of that massive total.

I started writing for Patch when the first wave of sites opened in suburban Boston, and, when I first began, nobody, understandably, knew what Patch was.

This site got on the map in late June when coverage of Arlington High School junior Sean Harrington's quest to have the Pledge of Allegiance recited in local schools gained national media attention. Patch was on the story from the very beginning and covered it from unique angles.

Since then, I have seen the sites gain traction in Arlington and its surrounding communities, and I hope that word continues to spread over time.

As has been stated on this site, Patch becomes stronger as more community members sign up and get involved, so please post your own photos and videos, comment on our articles and place an item into our announcements, calendar of events or classifieds section.

We want to represent all views, even opposing ones, so feel free to post yours and participate in lively discussions.