BOSTON, MA — (Marketwired) — 07/17/13 — , the social weather company, today announced the launch of the latest version of its crowdsourced app for mobile iOS devices, adding major enhancements to its on-the-ground weather observation and reporting capabilities. With users in 135 countries, Weathermob is building the world-s largest weather community to bring a deeper, more delightful and safer understanding of weather from the people who are experiencing the weather. Through enhanced social sharing features, Weathermob makes it possible for anyone with an iPhone to be a weather reporter.
The company also announced today that it has secured a total of $1.1 Million in angel funding to improve the platform. Investors include Mark Hastings, Lord Waheed Alli, Victoria Hackett and Drew Volpe.
The Weathermob platform, which already has over 200,000 downloads and more than 100,000 monthly active users, with an average of 6.5 minute session times, aims to build a network of weather news reporters literally from the ground up — creating a weather army. According to Weathermob Lead Meteorologist, Eric Holthaus, “In many places around the world (farmers in Africa, for example), weather drives everyday life. In many of these same places, weather forecasting is still in its infancy. Weather forecasts need data — and Weathermob can help create and collect that data and make it useful. The result could benefit millions of lives in some of the poorest places around the world and it-s big business.”
By connecting people around the weather, Weathermob helps create local “weather communities” that work together to improve the quality of everyone-s daily weather information. This might mean helping them remember to bring an umbrella, warning them about a hurricane or just reminding them to enjoy a beautiful day by showing them real-time weather reports — or observations — they never would have known about. After making a weather report, taking a more active role by sharing reports on weather changes, Weathermob users are helping each other to get real-time warnings about what-s to come — on good days, bad days and even fair to middling days — in any area.
Weather and climate data is an enormous and important business that extends far beyond the traditional forecast arena. A 2011 report from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) found that finance, manufacturing, agriculture and every other economic sector are sensitive to changes in the weather, and may add up to as much as $485B in the US alone.
“Weathermob was created to help solve a big problem facing the entire world; how can we tell the weather story and forecast with greater certainty and safety as the weather changes? We believe the answer is doing it together. Weathermob gives ordinary people a place to record and share what they see in the sky and, how it makes them feel; the two have always gone hand and hand. We use easy touch social media, icons and weather observation tools to create real-time weather data — and mapping. The weather changes all the time and traditional weather agencies cannot always reflect what is actually happening in out there or in your backyard. The weatherman is not always right. But the people under the sky, can create highly accurate, really useful and often quite inspiring information,” said Julia LaStage, CEO and Founder, Weathermob.
Features of Weathermob 2.0 include:
– Users create and follow specific channels focused on places such as a favorite surf spot, ski trail or golf course or even tracking the kinds of things you love like jeeps, a sports team, pedicures, pets or gardening, going beyond actual weather to things you love and things you love to do in it
– In addition to flash floods and other warnings, the new Weathermob trends feature offers social engagement with comments about activities: a good day to walk the dog, wear flip flops, go for a sail, get a cold beer, hot coffee or, ride in a convertible. Photos uploaded to the platform can be overlaid with current weather conditions and emotions associated with the weather; weather skins
– Users have the ability to toggle between current weather reports in their area, personal updates and trending conditions around the globe
– Users on the Weathermob platform can like, comment, follow and share the photos and weather updates from other users, driving engagement and conversations around social content; sharing easily with friends on Facebook and Twitter
– With an exclusive data sharing agreement with forecast.io, users have access to the most hyperlocal, precise and up-to-date forecast weather information, providing data that brings accurate forecasting for your locale right to your iPhone and sits alongside the reports of the crowd
– Due to the increase in extreme weather events and conditions around the globe, investment has been made to create an even more stable platform with increased uptime
Weathermob is the world-s largest community-based weather platform, combining real-time meteorological data, crowdsourced weather reports and social interaction around the world. With users in 135 countries, Weathermob disrupts the traditional weather reporting channels, and gives real people a voice in reporting and forecasting weather conditions in their local areas. The Weathermob app is available first on iOS and provides a human take on weather, driving engagement and giving people a place to have insightful and delightful conversations about the weather, while creating a truly unique set of data. For more information, please visit: .
Media contact:
Erica Zeidenberg
925-631-0553
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