HuffPo hits 1 billion monthly page views, snaps up Localocracy

The Huffington Post Media Group‘s explosive expansion is paying off. It has surpassed one billion page views in August, All Things Digital reports.

Additionally, HuffPo has acquired Localocracy, which describes itself as “an online town common where registered voters using real names can weigh in on local issues.”

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And if that isn’t enough, the site is launching four more sections this week and has hired the New York Times’ Lisa Belkin as a senior columnist to cover parenting and family life.

HuffPo has been growing rapidly since it was acquired by AOL for $315 million earlier this year. Today’s news is a sign that the site has no intention of slowing down anytime soon. Arianna Huffington (pictured right with AOL CEO Tim Armstrong), head of HuffPo and AOL’s news content, said that the site is aiming to launch sections that cater to all of the interests and passions of its readers. “Whatever your interest, we want to provide the latest content and stories and most advanced tools for engagement,” she told All Things Digital.

HuffPo says it also reached its largest number of unique visitors last month — 37 million — and pulled in a record 5.1 million comments.

Localocracy, based in Amherst, Mass., was founded in 2009 to help citizens better engage with local issues and coordinate with others on how to fix them. The company plans to expand on its local democracy ambitions with the help of HuffPo’s community platform and massive audience. “What we’ve learned with Localocracy is that by harnessing user-generated content, we’re able to unleash a lot of people power,” founders Conor White-Sullivan and Aaron Soules said in a statement today. “Our methodology is simple: we believe that everyone is an expert about something, so we want to give voice to that expertise and allow an exchange of ideas for all to see and participate in.”

The site’s new sections launching this week include HuffPost Gay Voices, HuffPost Weddings, HuffPost High School, and Huff/Post50.