We stayed after the first Patch 'facelift' in the spring of 2012, when the 'shout stream' was downsized and relocated. At the time, Patch bragged about the change. In their 'Spring Spruce-Up' article, they stated: "We moved YOU closer to the top: our "shout stream" is now front and center to show all your comments off.". In reality, Patch just crammed it into a much smaller space, and took away the timestamp. As a result, barely a single comment was visible--not exactly conducive to 'showing off' anyone's comments.
We continued to stay as the 'local news' reported on Patch seemingly devolved into a collection of YouTube videos, 'Facebook finds', 'What should go into this vacant spot' articles, and Yelp based 'top 10' lists written by 'reporters' that have obviously not eaten at the places listed.
Last month, Patch had rolled out a total redesign of the site. While there does seem to be more actual news articles, the 'shout stream' has completely disappeared. According to their 'new look of Patch' announcement, Patch seems to think that taking away the 'shout stream' would somehow make it easier for users to interact with each other. Once again, reality doesn't at all match the claims made by Patch. Personally, I find it much more difficult to interact with the other Patch users. We can no longer use the 'reply' button to post a response directly to another commenter. The 'new updates' feature is a pathetic substitute for the 'shout stream', and it is nearly impossible to follow ongoing discussions on articles that one hasn't already commented on. The list of flaws in the new design goes on and on.
We are over a month into the redesign and Patch seems to be in deep denial that anything is wrong with the new site. After months of 'testing' 'Patch 2.0' in some areas, they have since rolled it out to the rest of the Patch sites. I'm not sure why they bothered to 'test' the new site before they imposed it upon the rest of us--it seems that they have missed so many things with this new release, they obviously didn't bother to gather or use any feedback from users at the test locations.
I've gotten some lip service from Patch claiming that our feedback is being heard and that changes are in the works, but they refuse to make a public announcement to that effect. After a month, the assurances that steps are being taken to fix the site seem to be nothing but empty promises from the Patch PR department.
It's no secret that the lack of profitability has Patch on notice. If Patch continues to fall short of their monetary goals, it is believed that Patch will go away at the end of the year. The enormous failure of this redesign, along with the non-response on the part of Patch indicates that there is little hope for the future of this site.
Many familiar usernames already seem to be missing since the redesign. Prolific bloggers and commenters are now silenced. I'm guessing that they have left to find an alternative website, one where user interactions are easier and are encouraged. As a result, the comment sections are far slower than they have been in the past, making this a far less interesting place to be.
How much longer should the rest of us stay around before giving up on Patch completely?
This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.
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