Pacifica Patch Now Has a Widget Feature, Free Classifieds

Want headlines from Pacifica Patch delivered directly to your blog or Web site? Now, you can stream all the Pacifica news — or just certain categories — directly there for you and your visitors. It was one several changes made to the Pacifica Patch site recently that also includes free classified ads and a news feed from nearby Patch sites.

With a new widget feature, you can create a box that's easily insertable into blogs and Web pages. It's also customizable by topic, so if you just want sports, you can limit to sports or if you just want police and fire news, you get police and fire news. Just scroll down to the bottom of the main page and click on "Widgets" to find the directions of how to insert the news feed. Or click here.

And for those who might still might be wondering: What is a widget (Also, called gadgets in Blogger)? Not far from its mechanical origins, here's how our experts explain it:

"A widget is a self-contained piece of HTML code that you can embed into your site to add a cool new feature. All you have to do is paste the code into your website. Patch's first widget offering is a News feed, but there are all sorts of widgets out there, including clock widgets, countdown widgets, and lots of other fun features."

Why would you want one? Again, the experts:

"Depending on what it does, a widget can add awesome functionality or content to your site, with you barely lifting a finger to get it. For example, our first Patch widget is a cool local news feed. So if you have a local business, government or school Web site, or maybe a local blog, the Patch News Widget can be an easy source of awesome local content for your site!"

OTHER NEW BELLS AND WHISTLES: In addition to widgets, the site also is featuring news feeds from four nearby sites: , Millbrae Patch, South San Francisco Patch and Burlingame Patch. We hope this will help keep you apprised of other close-by communities that we also cover.

And, do you need a classified ad? We've had them on the site from the start, but this past week we've made them completely free.

To place a classified, click on the "Marketplace" tab at the top of the site or here.

THANK YOU, PACIFICA: We've just passed the four month mark — we launched on Oct. 7 — and in January we had nearly 8,000 unique visitors to the site. That's just one indicator of the reaction and participation we've been getting.

In that spirit, always feel free to reach out by commenting on our stories, posting on our activity stream or e-mailing me (camden@patch.com) ideas, complaints or just to say hi.

At the same time to remain worthy of that attention you've given, we pledge to continue our best journalism and coverage of Pacifica news, people and events that we can.