13 Things You (Didn't Know You) Could Do on Patch

The Baldwin-Whitehall Patch will celebrate its first anniversary on Dec. 30, but today, we want to take the time to remind you why we're here and what this site is all about.

We've built Patch so that you, as a user, have plenty of opportunities to comment on stories, share your opinions, post photos and announcements, and add events to the community calendar. We hope that our site has strengthened the community, and you, as a member of the community, will help to make it even better.

From our online business reviews to user blog posts, there's probably at least one thing that you didn't know that you could do on the Baldwin-Whitehall Patch in our list of 13 below:

1. Comment on an Article.

We subscribe to the idea that "news is a conversation." Much of our reporting will emanate from what readers tell us in emails, comments on our sites and in conversations around town. Share your thoughts and reactions to our articles by posting comments directly below stories.

2. Start a Blog.

We offer the opportunity to blog on our site in a section called Local Voices. It's located on the center of our home page or under that page's News tab. Once you get started, you can post as little or as much as you want. If you're interested, please email us at baldwin-whitehall@patch.com.

3. Rate Your Neighborhood Businesses.

Do you want to be the first to tell your friends whether the new restaurant in town gets a thumbs-up? You can post a review of your favorite (or not-so-favorite) restaurants, mechanics and government agencies under the Places tab on our home page.

4. Send a News Tip.

At the bottom of our home page, there's a link that says, "Send Us News Tips." Tell us about stories that we should cover. Your tip will be sent straight to the editorial staff.

5. Post an Event.

Do you know of a school play at or a local fundraiser? Is there a garage sale or a graduation ceremony coming up? If it's not on our Patch calendar, it should be. Feel free to add events to our site at http://baldwin-whitehall.patch.com/events. Oh, yeah, it's free.

6. Post an Announcement.

Births, engagements and wedding announcements, oh my. Tell us who made the honor roll or share school awards news, social notes and thank-you shoutouts. If you're looking for volunteers or searching for your lost dog, we welcome you to call on your community for help. Just remember that our Terms of Use say that announcements should be for personal use and not for advertising.

Here's the link to post an announcement: http://baldwin-whitehall.patch.com/search/announcements. You can also find it under the News tab on our home page. And again, it's free.

7. Sign Up for Newsletters and Breaking News Alerts.

The daily Baldwin-Whitehall Patch newsletter brings you the latest articles, the most recent announcements and opinions posted in the past 24 hours, and a listing of that day's upcoming events. It is delivered to your email inbox every morning. You can also sign up for a weekly newsletter and breaking news alerts. To sign up, click on "Newsletters" at the bottom of the home page.

If you want to change your subscription settings, log in to your Patch account and click on your name and then "Profile" in the upper right corner. Then, click on "Notification Settings" to change your newsletter settings.

8. Claim Your Business Listing.

Our business and organization listings aren't skimpy. Our team of researchers actually hit the streets and visited businesses, schools, parks, libraries and more so that we can provide photos and detailed information like products sold and hours of operation. To contact us about the listing for your business or organization, email us at directorysupport@patch.com. If you own or manage a business or organization under our Places tab, claim it at http://baldwin-whitehall.patch.com/places.

9. Shout It Out!

Leave a shoutout on Patch without having to add a comment to an existing article. You can tell us what you have to say right now by using the shout box at the top of our Activity Stream on the home page. Whatever you "shout" will go live into the stream.

10. Contribute to the Neighborhood Gallery.

Have a photo or a video of an event that you recently attended? We have the perfect place for you to share those photos with your neighbors.

"Your Neighborhood Gallery" debuted on Tuesday, Dec. 13. That gallery provides a place for readers to easily upload photos (and videos) of the Baldwin-Whitehall community directly to Patch.

We want to know what you've seen in town, and we want you to share your pictures with our readers and staff. While you can upload photos and videos related to specific stories to many articles on this site, until now, there was no existing place for you to upload media that aren't related to an existing story or post.

11. Check Out Local Traffic and Gas Prices.

Check out our new Traffic & Gas tab on the home page. You can consult a real-time traffic map complete with incident reports and construction notices. Plus, find the lowest gas prices in town.

12. Engage with Social Media.

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. Immerse yourself in neighborhood news and actively contribute and engage via social media.

13. Send a Letter to the Editor.

Patch would like to extend an invitation to every member of the community to submit a letter to the editor. Express your thoughts or concerns about anything that might be stirring up conversation around town, and most likely, we will share them. Email your letter to baldwin-whitehall@patch.com.

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Don't forget; you can follow the Baldwin-Whitehall Patch on Facebook and Twitter.