Patch Marks Two Years in Arlington County

It's funny how so many long days now, in hindsight, seem like they flew by at lightning speed.

Despite some naysayers, Patch continues to survive and thrive in Arlington County.

We've increased the quantity and quality of our local news coverage, thanks in large part to .

We've expanded our focus .

And we've worked hard to integrate ourselves into the community: While working our booth at the this year, it was nice not only introducing our platform to so many new people — but realizing that I was bumping into people I knew left and right.

The familiarity is comforting. It takes a long time to really learn a community. And I learn something new every day.

Patch is a network of hyperlocal news sites. We're owned by AOL, but we are very much still considered a startup — and I know some of you I've met along the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor know what that kind of life can be like!

We have more than 860 sites across the country, including more than 30 in Northern Virginia. We recently launched a site in Tysons Corner, and our next site — West End Alexandria Patch — will go live later this month.

Our first site in Arlington, Ballston-Virginia Square Patch, launched two years ago today. Clarendon-Courthouse-Rosslyn Patch followed about a month later.

We always took a countywide perspective. We had to — not only to compete, but simply to be responsible journalists.

But we've since officially rebranded our original site as Arlington Patch. It's more inclusive, more in line with the news we provide, and it positions us for further growth in 2013 and beyond. It also allows Clarendon-Courthouse Patch to develop its own identity, covering the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor from the heart of Arlington's original downtown.

Looking ahead, I can tell you we will be at the 2012 Clarendon Day on Sept. 22 — and in a big way! This year, we're one of the corporate sponsors. But more on that soon.

We're also in the early stages of planning our second televised forum, again with Arlington Independent Media. We enjoyed , and I'm sure the upcoming forum for Arlington County Board candidates will be even better!

More on that soon, too. In the meantime, drop us a line, leave a comment, post on our Facebook wall… Let us know what we've done well and what we can do better. I can't promise every piece of feedback will get a response. But it will get read.

For now, back to the grind.

Another long night is about to zoom by.

Jason Spencer

Editor, Arlington Patch