Comments on: Time Warner makes a small bet on hyperlocal news sites in Patch

By: point local

point local — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:33:19 +0000

Great post. Nice acquisition. AOL seems to be positioning a little better than the other big players in the local search space. Only time will tell.

By: MichaelJ

MichaelJ — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 18:30:22 +0000

My two cents: The kernel is “Combination packages with the local cable system and video ads can’t be far off.”

The mobile web is not far off in the States. The cable channels have all the video they need, and can get alot more if it started paying the bills.

An advertising package for local business which does newspapers and cable ads in one package is a killer app, in my not so humble opinion.

By: Mark Sakalosky

Mark Sakalosky — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:21:47 +0000

AOL bought Patch, not Time Warner. May sound picky since Time Warner owns AOL, but its not. Time Warner has offcially given up on AOL and is planning on spinning it off ASAP. They have finally recognized that there are no synergies to exploit, something that was obvious to the rest of the world around 2003. Also, Time Warner and Time Warner Cable are no longer affiliated in any way. Time Warner Cable became a public company in 2007 and Time Warner sold theior remaining financial stake in TWC in 2008.

I see AOL’s acquisition of Patch as just another desperate move by AOL to buy something ‘hot’ (e.g. hyperlocal) in the hopes that the resulting glow will make people think AOL is ‘hot’ again. Don;t be fooled, Patch will die a slow death inside the walls of AOL.

By: Pat Lazure

Pat Lazure — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 05:09:23 +0000

Hey there Martin, the Patch & Going acquisitions are fascinating, but I find it ironic that these “hyperlocal” sites are chasing markets most congested w/competing media. If they’re going hyperlocal, why not build solutions for the traditionally underserved, small towns? As discussed a couple of weeks ago, here’s a link to one of WikiCity’s “showcase” cities: http://www.wikicity.com/wiki/Wahoo%2C_Nebraska

Of course your feedback is always welcome & I invite the same from your readers.

Regards,

Pat