You can now get your daily weather updates on Twitter. The tech giant has teamed up with veteran climate journalist and meteorologist Eric Holthaus to bring you a weather service called Currently.
Currently, formerly known as Tomorrow, is available in 16 cities in North America following its launch in June 2021. The service is staffed by a team of 18 local meteorologists who will create a mix of free and paid content.
But what is the service about? And why has Twitter invested in a weather subscription service for a social media platform?
Why Twitter Decided to Launch Currently
Gone are the days when everyone depended on TV, radio, and newspapers to keep up with the latest news. Nowadays, people turn to social media to stay updated on what’s happening. And Twitter provides breaking news, along with new developments, by the minute.
Not only is the social media app the go-to platform for breaking news, but many conversations are sparked on the app as users ask questions and seek to learn more about major news stories like weather events, with experts chiming in to provide their knowledge.
Twitter’s Vice President of Product Mike Park cites these reasons for launching the service in a statement to Axios, saying:
[W]eather is a perfect match for Twitter—some of the largest spikes in conversations on Twitter are tied to severe events like hurricanes, floods, and fires.
He added:
You can imagine paying subscribers getting even closer to experts, using features like Spaces to ask questions before a hurricane or other severe events.
Holthaus also affirmed the need for a weather service on Twitter, noting that he receives a flood of direct messages on the app from people looking for answers and advice during catastrophes. He told Axios that his Twitter following shot up to 15,000 from 5,000 in a week during Hurricane Sandy, just by interpreting weather information in a way that people could understand.
How Twitter’s Weather Service Works
Hello world!
🌱🌈💫
🌍🌏🌎
⛈️🔥☀️How’s the weather out there?
— Currently (@currently) May 23, 2021
Currently will provide a free subscription service, as well as exclusive content for paid members. Membership starts at $10 per month, unlocking access to exclusive, long-form newsletters through Twitter’s newsletter platform, Revue, as well as paid live audio sessions through Ticketed Spaces (Twitter’s Clubhouse-like service).
As a paid subscriber, you will have the ability to ask meteorologists and climate experts questions during breaking news weather events through Q&A services.
Where Twitter’s Weather Service Is Available
As of June 2021, Twitter’s weather service is available in the following regions:
- Atlanta
- Boston
- Charlotte
- Chicago
- Dallas/Fort Worth
- Detroit
- Houston
- Minneapolis
- New York City
- Philadelphia
- Portland
- San Antonio
- San Francisco
- Toronto
- Washington, DC
- The Dominican Republic
The service is expected to expand to most of the 50 major media markets in North America by the end of 2021, and to India and Brazil by 2022.
Twitter Moves Toward Paid Services
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has expressed that the company sees subscriptions as a new form of revenue. It makes sense for Twitter to take on this form of revenue—some of the biggest influencers, experts, and activists are not only active on Twitter, but use the platform to drive important conversations.
Because of their massive reach, those creators could make significant sums of money creating more in-depth content for their audiences, and Twitter wants to incentivize this content creation.
This is why the company has rolled out new products that allow influential people to make money on Twitter, such as Revue newsletters and the tipping option, Tip Jar. Twitter takes no cut from the income that creators earn through its Tip Jar feature, while Revue takes a five percent fee on paid newsletters.
Twitter Pioneers a Unique Social Service
Twitter is the first social media app to provide a service of this kind. Not one to be outdone, Facebook might launch a competitive service, but only time will tell. For now, Twitter continues to develop its vision to bring creators and audiences together.
And with so many new additions to the app, we can only wonder what’s next for the social media giant.