My thoughts on the NY Times article on 'hyperlocal websites' :
1. EveryBlock seems to be the best. Its the most aesthetically appealing. It has a detailed wide ranged list of events and articles that are most relevant to a neighborhood. Its only downfall is that its limited in available cities. Anyone not living in those cities is out of luck.
2. Patch. I find it interesting that Patch only seems to be extending to the wealthiest communities in the states its in. For example, the only communites in CT on Patch are Ridgefield, Weston, Westport, Darien, and New Canaan. Unless you throw Greenwich in the mix, you can't get any more FairfieldCounty/GoldCoast/$100,000medianincome that these towns.
That brings me to think that much to the chagrin of those advocating that the internet democratizes information, Patch does not contribute to that egalitarianism. Its telling that the only communities participating in Patch are those already the most organized, educated, and 'in the know'.
3. Almost all the website, to minutely varying degrees, are still relying on traditional media in the information they are providing. Crime reports/political stories all seem to be coming from the newspapers and television station websites. If the newspapers go out of business, these websites will need some major increase in funding and reach to make up for the loss of a community paper.
I wanted to address your item #2--your observation is very accurate. In my post: hyper-hopefully-helpful, I found an article explaining that Patch.com purposefully sought out wealthy communities with thriving school districts who were more likely to get involved. In fact, one of the criticisms of Patch is that it is expanding too far too fast and might extend into communities that won't "buy" into it (yes, that was an intentional pun).
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