Enfield Patch is approaching its two-year anniversary, and while I hope that many of you are already familiar with Patch and how it works, I wanted to share our philosophy and give a little tour for those who are just learning about us. I invite you to click around, see what you think, and email me your thoughts and feedback.
Patch's mission statement is, "To make your life ridiculously easy." Doesn't that sound fun? We love it, and through our sites we live it. Here's how we make your life easy:
1. Terrific news coverage of what's happening in the town. Whether it's a major fire or a new business in town, Patch has it covered!
2. Every morning, we bring all the news to your inbox - just sign up for the newsletter and voila! Patch articles, blogs, events and announcements are a click away.
3. An amazing calendar of events that anyone can post to for free! We rely on the community to tell the community what's going on so we've made it super easy to add events and include photos. Just become a registered user (click Sign Up in the top right corner of the home page) and get started!
4. Announcements that let you brag about that new baby, that recent graduate, or get out the word about newly promoted employees at your business! Our announcements section was made for the community to share all the news with each other.
5. The Local Voices blogging platform that gives the public a place to share their expertise, air their opinions, make us laugh, or even make us cry.
6. Other elements of the site include our Commute section, which gives you real time traffic updates on the roads and tells you where to find the cheapest gas, and our Pics & Clips Gallery where folks can share their photos of life in town.
7. Our Directory is the go-to place for all things Enfield! Municipal offices, businesses, services, restaurants, if it exists in town, you can find it here! (And if you are a business owner and we missed you somehow, please click the "add me" button in the directory and we will get you right in! Business owners, it is important that you "claim" your listing so you can add information to it! It is super easy - watch this to find out how.
8. Patch celebrates Main Street - and our advertising is priced to help get small and medium sized businesses on the site in an attractive way to bring customers to their doors. E-mail our Regional Publisher Michael Pendergast (Michael.Pendergast@patch.com) for details.
9. Because we want to be everywhere you are, you can like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter as well. We do lots of extra, fun things on our social media pages, so make sure you are in the mix!
The most important thing to know about Patch if you are a first-time user is that we operate the site on the premise that it is not "our" Patch - it is a Web site that belongs to every member of the community. We want your comments on issues, we want you to share your photos, we want you to advertise your events and we want you to brag about your kids' achievements.
We have designed Patch to be the 21st century village square, the watercooler, the place where all the conversation starts and where solutions to local problems can be found.