Knowing where it’s snowing using nothing but tweets.
Gregg Blanchard /
I’ve often said that if we simply think of social media as a new broadcast channel for our own messages, well, then we’re missing the point.
So in that idea, a few winters ago, I setup an experiment with a simple goal: Identify where it is snowing simply by watching for people saying so on Twitter.
The dates weren’t displaying correctly when I recorded this video (i didn’t catch that until after), but the concept is there.
I’ve also given this data an interface so you can see the results and, hopefully, be a bit more inspired by the possibilities.
So, yeah, enjoy the free reach that social media provides but also take a step back and think about the doors opened by having access to such a massive, public conversation.
Because, simply put, the power of social media is about much more than just distribution.