Topic: Not sure how to feel about this...

[WeatherHost]

that should bring them to their knees crying and begging...

One, no.

Two, no.

Ten, no.

But if it catches on and hundreds or thousands stop feeding the Roker machine, it will have an impact.

[Aardvark]

that should bring them to their knees crying and begging...

One, no.

Two, no.

Ten, no.

But if it catches on and hundreds or thousands stop feeding the Roker machine, it will have an impact.

Whatever floats your boat.  Whatever puts your hippty hop in your hippty hopper.   

[ArmySlowRdr]

I see no reason yet to stop sending data.  A sale to me doesn't constitute a good reason.
For a while Yakima Bike Racks and Popeyes Fried Chicken were owned by an investment group under the control of Bank of Bahrain.  Didn't make me stop liking the products any less.

[WeatherHost]

I see no reason yet to stop sending data.  A sale to me doesn't constitute a good reason.

Then you don't know TWC/NBC/Comcast.

[ArmySlowRdr]

Outdoor Life Network became Versus became NBCSports.  I see no reason to quit viewing yet just as so far I see no reason to quit sending data to WU. That could change in the future should TWC make the site less than it is now.

I see no reason yet to stop sending data.  A sale to me doesn't constitute a good reason.

Then you don't know TWC/NBC/Comcast.

[ocala]

I agree at this point it's knee jerk reaction to stop sending data but it's John's data so it's his to do with what he wants.
I will say that TWC is on a short leash with most of us though.

[SlowModem]

I agree at this point it's knee jerk reaction to stop sending data but it's John's data so it's his to do with what he wants.
I will say that TWC is on a short leash with most of us though.

That's how I see it.

[ALITTLEweird1]

From Jeff

Many Weather Underground features, such as our Personal Weather Station data, WunderMap, and my blog, are scheduled to also appear on the weather.com web site in the coming months.

And thats the day l'll stop sending my data.

[Bunty]

Well I have stopped sending WU data as of 8:00 a.m. CDT this morning.  I replaced them by sending data to PWS Weather on Monday in their place.

John

Not me.  Much of my web site is based on WU maps and other stuff.

[Aardvark]

I am giving up Budwiser beer because of the evil thing that happened the other day.

Here I was standing watching the parade and one of their  Clydesdales cut lose with a turd right in my line of sight.   I am going to punish the company by not drinking their beer anymore..  now that should show them, Right?

Same difference here.

[ncpilot]

Yeah, but, bit horse, big turd?   

[Dr Obbins]

This is one of the examples of what NBC does. On their MSNBC home page the second top headline is "NYT: Fears of new Dust Bowl
as heat shrivels Midwest corn" Now this is a reprint from the NYT, but still they are posting it. The headline strikes fear into everyone that another dust bowl is on the way. While it talks about the drought in general terms, there is no data or even "scientific experts" to back up the claim that a dust bowl is on the way. The only thing that would put this fear into someone that a dust bowl is imminent, is their headline. There is one statement "while some farmers have begun alluding, unhappily, to the Dust Bowl of the 1930s." - These guys must be in their 90s in order to remember that.

The story is about drought and lost crops - not that a dust bowl in on the way.

[ocala]

Dr Obbins just about all the print or broadcast media sensationalize the headlines. It's what sells.
NBC isn't doing anything different then any other media outlet.
The thing we as consumers must do is wade through the crap to get  actual factual information.

[mdbelt]

Interesting articles.  Read some of the quotes from David Kenny

Fans Howl After Weather Site Buys Out Rival

Weather Underground Readers Rebel Over Weather Channel Acquisition

[TobySkinner]

Hi everyone - this is Toby Skinner from Weather Underground. Apologies for not responding earlier - it's been a hectic week here. There is not a lot more that I can tell you other than to reassure you again that the tools and products we provide to PWS owners on wunderground.com will not change - other than long-term enhancements and more community support. Weather Underground's character has always come from its employees and trust me - we (including Jeff Masters and other Senior Management) aren't going anywhere. TWCC recognizes the unique audience that we provide a service to - and the community's reaction to the news further exemplifies the passionate of our members. Some of us at Weather Underground have had more time to absorb the news - if you haven't already read this, Shaun Tanner our Head of Meteorological Operations gives an interesting and positive perspective: http://www.wunderground.com/blog/shauntanner/show.html?entrynum=212

Actions speak louder than words so please give us time to demonstrate that this will be a positive move for our company, the web site and our PWS community.

I will try and answer any specific concerns that you have - although we have no specific details at this stage regarding how and where our content will be shared.

[WeatherHost]

trust me - we (including Jeff Masters and other Senior Management) aren't going anywhere.

Until NBC/Comcast decides you no longer fit into their 'vision' of how the site should be run.  Remember, this is the company that stripped out the core of TWC and started doing silly things like running movies on Friday nights and driving some of the best on-air talent away.

[TobySkinner]

trust me - we (including Jeff Masters and other Senior Management) aren't going anywhere.

Until NBC/Comcast decides you no longer fit into their 'vision' of how the site should be run.  Remember, this is the company that stripped out the core of TWC and started doing silly things like running movies on Friday nights and driving some of the best on-air talent away.

We are a profitable but extremely streamlined company - and the online / mobile space is very different to cable TV....  TWCC really does understands that our brand is all about the employees and our community - just look at the reactions from the merger - they prompted the New York Times to write a whole article - http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/04/us/as-weather-channel-buys-weather-underground-fans-fear-change.html - but again, I know that words are easy - we just ask that people judge us on our actions!

[SlowModem]

Interesting articles.  Read some of the quotes from David Kenny

Fans Howl After Weather Site Buys Out Rival

Weather Underground Readers Rebel Over Weather Channel Acquisition

I'm kind of hurt.  In one article it barely mentioned personal weather stations uploading to WU.  You'd think that they'd mention that a tremendous amount of their data comes from us.  The articles seem to focus on the website's users, not contributors.

Did anyone else notice that?

I've sent the following email to the reporters:

There is a community of personal weather station owners worldwide who have personal weather websites and contribute weather data to Weather Underground (WU), WeatherForYou, Citizen Weather Observation Program, and other weather sites.  Much of this data is used by NOAA, Homeland Security, other government agencies, many private corporations, and citizens.

In the article you write:

Mr. Maxwell said he appreciated Weather Underground’s fanatical devotion to data, and how it drew information from so many thousands of weather stations run by users that he is able to determine “microclimates” of variation that can prove important in getting the most out of a new solar installation.

I read right over that the first time and had to re-read the article to notice that.  I'm sure there are a lot of people that use WU that are "weather fans" and keep up with the weather, but I'd venture to say that most of the people that look at Weather Underground are the Personal Weather Station contributors.  We send data for a reason, and we use that data in many different ways.  I don't know how many Personal Weather Stations contribute to WU, but I'm sure it's several thousand.  We buy weather stations and software at our own expense, and gladly share it with the afore mentioned sites.

WU would not be what it is if not for us.  I think that point was missed in the story.  Plus we have some strong feelings on the sale of WU, as well.  You can see how some Personal Weather Station owners feel about the change in ownership here:

http://www.wxforum.net/index.php?topic=15900.0


And now you know.................the rest of the story.

Sincerely,

Greg Whitehead
Ten Mile, TN

[WeatherHost]

but again, I know that words are easy - we just ask that people judge us on our actions!

You're still not understanding the point.  Neither you, Masters nor any of the current staff have anything to say about how WU is run any more.  NBC/Comcast is now pulling the strings.  They may let you THINK you're still running the place for a while ..... maybe a year, maybe two.  It's not about whether we trust YOU.  We've seen what NBC/Comcast did to TWC.  We KNOW what they'll do to WU.

[SlowModem]

I've sent the following email to the reporters:

I have already received this response from John Schwartz:

Greg,


Thanks very much for your note--I think the community of weather station contributors are a huge part of the audience, and the soul, of WU. I do wonder if these folks will decamp en masse if they don't like the direction Weather.com takes... I'd hate to see it happen, but it would be an important story to cover--

So maybe they'll be watching how this unfolds and our actions. 

[TobySkinner]

Hi Greg - I'm sorry that you feel kind of hurt but understand why you would be. We obviously have little control over what is actually published in such an article.

We have over 24,000 PWS owners right now and we really do know that we would not be where we are now without you and our other station owners. You may have seen from our recent Community Newsletter that we have tried to increase the sense of community and improve communications between Weather Underground and our PWS owners . But until now we've had very few resources - moving forward we hope to open up wider communication channels and offer all station owners more benefits in return for contributing data.

[SlowModem]

Thanks.  But my issue was with the Times story, not WU. 

[WeatherHost]

I'm wondering how long the PWS sections and/or other content will remain before they get replaced with NBC news features or content and when Big Al Roker will show up on the site in some form.

[TobySkinner]

but again, I know that words are easy - we just ask that people judge us on our actions!

You're still not understanding the point.  Neither you, Masters nor any of the current staff have anything to say about how WU is run any more.  NBC/Comcast is now pulling the strings.  They may let you THINK you're still running the place for a while ..... maybe a year, maybe two.  It's not about whether we trust YOU.  We've seen what NBC/Comcast did to TWC.  We KNOW what they'll do to WU.

I do understand your point as everyone now knows that we will have new owners. We may not have complete control as we are accountable to our owners - but we do have a very big say still. On a day-to-day basis we are still developing the products, writing the content and managing the brand - yes, we may report to different people - but it is now up to us to demonstrate to those people how their investment can enhance the products and services we offer and expand our brand awareness without changing the essence of what makes us so popular (and profitable).

[weatherforyou]

but again, I know that words are easy - we just ask that people judge us on our actions!

You're still not understanding the point.  Neither you, Masters nor any of the current staff have anything to say about how WU is run any more.  NBC/Comcast is now pulling the strings.  They may let you THINK you're still running the place for a while ..... maybe a year, maybe two.  It's not about whether we trust YOU.  We've seen what NBC/Comcast did to TWC.  We KNOW what they'll do to WU.

I do understand your point as everyone now knows that we will have new owners. We may not have complete control as we are accountable to our owners - but we do have a very big say still. On a day-to-day basis we are still developing the products, writing the content and managing the brand - yes, we may report to different people - but it is now up to us to demonstrate to those people how their investment can enhance the products and services we offer and expand our brand awareness without changing the essence of what makes us so popular (and profitable).

I have talked with The Weather Channel many times over the last few years about including data from PWSweather.com/WeatherForYou.com on TWC since they were pretty much the only site not to have something like it.  Every time it came back as they weren't interested.  Of course I got the same thing from WU when they and others were approached with the idea in 1998 (which is why I started WeatherForYou.com in 1999) so they may have come to realize how relevant personal weather stations really are.  I know that WU had many other things to offer, but I (as a contributor) wonder if there were many things TWC liked about WU they'll continue to develop and the personal weather station program will really receive the same attention it has had under WU or, given TWC's previous lack of interest, will be seen as a burden.