Jon Brod, executive VP, AOL Ventures, was keynote speaker today at the BIA/Kelsey Marketplaces 2010 conference. He gave us a good update on AOL’s local strategy centered around Patch, the hyperlocal/citizen journalism initiative at AOL.

Highlights from his keynote:

• Local is the largest opportunity YET to be won online
• AOL’s five pillars: content, advertising, communications, ventures, local
• Patch’s mission: to improve communities and the lives of their residents through information.
• Patch consists of i) a scalable technology platform, ii) structured data, iii) professional journalists in every community
• Monetization: i) self-serve ads 2) Ad sales reps
• Operating Patch is 4.1% of the cost of a like-size daily newspaper
• AOL will soon to relaunch City’s Best brand (was dormant)
• AOL will soon relaunch MapQuest as well

Additional notes from Local SEO Guide:

• Patch has grown from 3 markets one year ago to 41 communities on four different states.
• They have a LocalFund to invest in local startups.
• AOL on the record as investing $50MM in Patch and City’s Best this year.

Brod mentioned they had this quote about local: “local is not a one-ton gorilla, It is 2,000 one-pound monkeys”.