The Value Of Twitter and Facebook On A Weather Site

[GregJ]

I have been VERY slow to even explore the "Social Network".  I finally got the courage to put up an anonymous Facebook page for my weather site.  I immediately got a bunch of "Friend" requests.  This was kind of fun.  If something happens or I am making a change to my site I post it on Facebook.  People appreciate this.  I get quite a few comments and messages.  Recently we had a snow event and I have been following a local meteorologist.  He was giving several updates during the day.  It was a lot of fun and also a great way to stay informed.  So, I signed up for a Twitter account for my site.  I did a few "tweets" and ended up picking up a few followers.  Overnight last night, my webcam scored on a lightning bolt. http://www.skunkbayweather.com/LightningStrike.jpg We don't get a lot of lightning around here, so this is a BIG deal.  I tweeted about it and within minutes the local ABC morning news had it on, the local ABC blogger retweeted it, within a half hour he had a blog written about it: http://www.komonews.com/weather/blogs/scott/Web-camera-captures-lightning-strike-over-Whidbey-Island-138290839.html  I got more Twitter followers, more "Friend" requests on Facebook and several private emails about my site and also wanting more information.  This was all before 11:00 am this morning.  Even the Weather Channel visited my site. 

So, I thought I would share the value of Twitter on a weather site.  If I had not "tweeted", unless somebody came to my site, very few people would have seen it.

Greg

[AF6GL]

Congratulations!

It's nice to be noticed isn't it? Nice website and great photo. What do you use for a webcam?

[wmcatty]

You just seem to be doing nothing but good lately!

[Mark / Ohio]

Congratulations Greg!  

I'm actually warming up to Twitter more then Facebook.  But both have brought new people in.

https://twitter.com/#!/FairfieldCoWx

http://www.facebook.com/people/Fairfieldcountyweather-Lancasterohio/100001816915309

[GregJ]

I think Twitter for weather related events is great.  I never really understood the tweets like "I had honey crunch cheerios for breakfast this morning" ...... Huh?  Who the hell cares.  But.... "I just had a 58 mph gust" carries a bit more weight for content....

BTW... I'm following you now Mark.....    I may even ask you to be my "Friend" later on.... 

Greg

[weatherforyou]

BTW... EXCELLENT picture there.  My son was stationed on Whidbey Island until he was assigned to the USS Enterprise a few weeks ago.  I'll have to ask him if he was there for that rare lightning strike. 

[Bunty]

I have been VERY slow to even explore the "Social Network".  I finally got the courage to put up an anonymous Facebook page for my weather site.  I immediately got a bunch of "Friend" requests.  This was kind of fun.  If something happens or I am making a change to my site I post it on Facebook.  People appreciate this.  I get quite a few comments and messages.  Recently we had a snow event and I have been following a local meteorologist.  He was giving several updates during the day.  It was a lot of fun and also a great way to stay informed.  So, I signed up for a Twitter account for my site.  I did a few "tweets" and ended up picking up a few followers.  Overnight last night, my webcam scored on a lightning bolt. http://www.skunkbayweather.com/LightningStrike.jpg We don't get a lot of lightning around here, so this is a BIG deal.  I tweeted about it and within minutes the local ABC morning news had it on, the local ABC blogger retweeted it, within a half hour he had a blog written about it: http://www.komonews.com/weather/blogs/scott/Web-camera-captures-lightning-strike-over-Whidbey-Island-138290839.html  I got more Twitter followers, more "Friend" requests on Facebook and several private emails about my site and also wanting more information.  This was all before 11:00 am this morning.  Even the Weather Channel visited my site. 

So, I thought I would share the value of Twitter on a weather site.  If I had not "tweeted", unless somebody came to my site, very few people would have seen it.

Greg

I loved how your lightening picture took up my entire monitor.  And like how the front page of your site is nicely spread out on my monitor.  Good show!

[smorris]

Fantastic photo!

I've been using Twitter for a while, and have gathered a few local followers. One is the local Patch reporter, who retweets to her hundreds of followers. I think several of mine have come as a result of that. I have LWC send the current conditions every three hours, and add personal comments or details once in a while.

I've never used Facebook before. I just created an account, but not sure what I'll do with it. If all I do is paste the tweets on there, I can't see much value. I'll try it for a while, but I might end up deleting the account.

Steve

[GregJ]

Bunty,
Thank you for the kind words..... Just don't try to load my page on an Ipad.....

Greg

[xykotik]

Twitter and FB are good marketing tools for a business or an organization, but I would never use it for a personal account.  Of course, it's those millions of personal accounts that you are marketing to.  ("Useful Twitiots")

GregJ, our local KIRO radio morning reporter just blogged about the thousands of "likes" she got from "subscribers" in Arab countries on a story about Seattle schools.  Huh?  The spokesman for FB say there are no fake accounts on FB.  I guess he's never hear of link-jacking. (Of course, the company is about to go public and the IPO is expected to be over $1BB.)
http://mynorthwest.com/646/618814/Are-Facebooks-public-subscribers-for-real

[Wayne_R]

Nice info, great pic, and congrats on the "exposure" you got 

[LFWX]

Congratulations Greg!  

I'm actually warming up to Twitter more then Facebook.  But both have brought new people in.

https://twitter.com/#!/FairfieldCoWx

http://www.facebook.com/people/Fairfieldcountyweather-Lancasterohio/100001816915309

Mark (and Steve)

You should create a public Facebook "Page" that doesn't require people to be a Facebook user to view (no login required), and then you can use your main Facebook account for communicating with your "Friends".
My main account is for family use, my "Page" is for weather stuff.

Mike
http://twitter.com/LFWeatherCenter
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Liberty-Fairfield-Weather-Center/169769506442125?sk=wall

[smorris]

MIke,

I don't know if I created a "page" as you suggested or what. I created a new account, made sure everything was set so anyone could view/access it, and then I've made a few posts (which for the most part are copy/paste from my Twttter posts.) I don't know if a viewer needs to be logged in to see it or not. When I log out and try to see the page, it says to log in, so I guess I've done it wrong.

I don't use Facebook for my personal use, and have no interest in doing so. But I'd like to make the weather page visible to anyone.

One of my concerns about making a Facebook page was having visitors want to "friend" me. With Twitter, they can follow me but I don;t have to follow them. It looks like if they friend me on the weather page, I'd want o be a congenial host and converse with them. But I sure wouldn't want to see all the minutia of their life that users post. Maybe I just don't understand how it works.

Thanks for the input,
Steve

http://www.facebook.com/people/Avon-Weather/100003492270883
https://twitter.com/avonweather

[SlowModem]

http://www.facebook.com/people/Avon-Weather/100003492270883

I don't belong to facebook.  But I did look at the link above on my phone (facebook is blocked on the computers here at work).  All I saw was a cloud and rain icon and "Log in to contact Avon Weather"

[dalecoy]

I see that cloud, and "To connect with Avon,
sign up for Facebook today"

[smorris]

Thanks for checking. That's what I see, too. I guess I haven't made it public for non-members, only for Facebook members. I'll see how to fix that.

Thanks,
Steve

[Garth Bock]

I may have missed past conversations but is there a way or in one of the weather packages a way to auto post weather info to say Twitter/Facebook/MySpace ?

[smorris]

OK, I think I've got it. Confusing in that I'm Avon Weather and the "page" is Avon Weather, so it automatically "likes" myself. I'll get the hang of it...


Thanks for all the help!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Avon-Weather/224062474350537?sk=wall
https://twitter.com/avonweather

[smorris]

I may have missed past conversations but is there a way or in one of the weather packages a way to auto post weather info to say Twitter/Facebook/MySpace ?

I'm using Lightsoft Weather Center on a Mac. One of the members of the MacWeather forum wrote an AppleScript to use LWC's tags and post the data to Twitter. Works great. I'll occasionally add personal comments, such as my new "weather fact of the day", drastic changes such as severe storm, white out, etc.

I'd imagine there's a similar output available either built in or created by the enthusiast community for other software.
Steve

[tobyspond]

I use twitter (https://twitter.com/tobyspond) and google+ (rarely and I'm not sure I see much utility in either google+ or facebook).  I've received more response from twitter than google+. Cumulus will automatically upload to twitter; the configuration is under configuration/internet. 

Kerry

[LFWX]

OK, I think I've got it. Confusing in that I'm Avon Weather and the "page" is Avon Weather, so it automatically "likes" myself. I'll get the hang of it...


Thanks for all the help!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Avon-Weather/224062474350537?sk=wall
https://twitter.com/avonweather

The part that confused me was trying to figure out how to comment on someone's page as "Liberty Fairfield Weather Center" and not as myself.
Turns out all I had to do was select "Use Facebook as Page"
http://screencast.com/t/U8rRDVHMx

Once someone "likes" your "page", your updates show in their news feed without you having to become their "friend".

I'm sure there are other features I'm missing out on, maybe I should by "An Idiots Guide to..."

-Mike

[smorris]

Got it! Thanks for your help, Mike. I think we've hijacked Greg's post too much, though. Sorry Greg. 

Steve

[Mark / Ohio]

I may have missed past conversations but is there a way or in one of the weather packages a way to auto post weather info to say Twitter/Facebook/MySpace ?

I use WxTweeter to get it to Twitter.  http://parolesoftware.com/content.php

Then RSS Graffiti to copy the Twitter posts into Facebook.  http://www.rssgraffiti.com/

[xykotik]

I use WxTweeter to get it to Twitter.  http://parolesoftware.com/content.php

"ParoleSoftware?"  Seriously?  Call me prejudiced, but I immediately had an image of prisoners "following" twitter and facebook updates and knowing your every move and location (and when away from home, etc.).

Paranoid you say?  Many years ago, the Oregon State Parks campground reservation system was outsourced to a prison, and one lonely fellow began a stalking campaign with some contact info.  I had a scary experience with Shuttle Express (yes, I'm naming them) who emailed my ride reservation information, including my full name, CC number with expiration and verification code, pick-up date, destination (airport), return-date (two weeks later), address (of my unoccupied house), and phone number.  The panic came when I discovered that my email server had been hacked (I had details) after the start of my trip, and before I saw the email, which had been OPENED.  Since folks that bother to hack into email servers like that (not just accounts) are usually looking for things to steal, I cancelled my CC (mid-trip) and informed the Sheriff of my concern.  I NEVER like to let strangers know details on my movements.

[GregJ]

Smorris.... No hijack here!  I would call it an evolution of a conversation.  All good stuff!

Greg