Social Media Storm

When I started in this business in 1997, television was a one way street.  We talked, you listened.  Social media changed all that several years ago and we can argue for better or worse.  I believe with any new technology, it has pros and cons, but the pros far outweigh anything bad.  I embraced social media with opened arms and I'm glad I did in light of how everything is evolving.  Gone are the days TV stations need a stick on top of a mountain to communicate.  It can all be done personally with a smart phone anywhere and anytime.

There's a real debate going on in the broadcast meteorology community surrounding how information is disseminated. I'll admit, I have been completely blind over the past few months or years about how many in our profession utilize automated scheduled tweeting.  I have always been under the impression media is a one way street, but social media makes it two ways.  In my opinion, once you take the interactivity out, you have removed the social from social media.  Some in my business refer to it as "antisocial media".

We now have the ability to communicate at anytime of day answering questions, giving opinions, talking about upcoming weather, etc.  One North Carolina TV meteorologist said something that has really stuck with me, "If you're doing TV weather on social media, you're doing it wrong."  That's one of the many reasons you will rarely ever see me put out my daily or 7 day forecast on Twitter or Facebook.  I try to give you more, but keep you coming to the TV when the news is on.  Meteorologists now hold the title of promotion producers as well trying to draw as large of an audience as possible for our stations newscasts.

While we're competitors in Little Rock, what you see on Twitter is the real deal.  No one in this market, Jonesboro, or Fayetteville is sending out automated tweets.  There's a real person behind each one.  I'm proud to be a part of the lively hashtag #ARWX.  Many meteorologists at all stations put countless hours into it on the clock and even at home on their off hours.

Why am I bringing this up?  Be careful with what you see on the #ARWX Twitter hashtag.  My hope is it continues to be a two way street, but others have differing ideas.  I have kindly asked for a few meteorologists in Missouri to drop the #ARWX from their automated tweeting.  By all means, I want them included since there are several counties in northern Arkansas in their viewing area.  My request has apparently been denied and that's just the way it goes. All I can do is continue on with my philosophy towards social media and once again, I'm proud our TV market and all 4 stations haven't turned to this automated scheduled tweeting.

How will you know what's automated and what's authentic?  You will notice tweets coming from the same people saying the same thing at the same time each day.  Mute it or unfollow it, it's your choice.  They can do this using a program and I'll illustrate that below.  Also below are the results from a Twitter poll I started yesterday.  With more than 600 votes, it's overwhelming what you want.

Thanks for reading

IFTTT is the program used for automation.  When you see this, you now know.