The Weather Channel Launches 'My Friends' Weather'

New feature on weather.com allows users to track how severe weather is impacting their Facebook friends

By George Winslow -- Broadcasting & Cable, 7/23/2012 8:16:43 PM

As part of an ongoing effort to expand its social media tools, The Weather Channel companies (TWCC) has launched "My Friends' Weather" on its weather.com site.

TWCC recently launched a major redesign of the site which included enhanced social media features. The new "My Friends' Weather" tool, which is its first Facebook Open Graph application, allows users to track how severe weather is impacting their friends and then share that information via Facebook with the friends who are in the track of the storms.

TWCC has lined up Travelers to sponsor the effort. As part of that alliance, the insurance company will supply tips on how users can prepare and then recover from severe weather on the "My Friends' Weather" page.

"As communication channels evolve, we must look beyond the traditional alert tone you get on radio or TV, or even simple mobile push messages," said Mike Finnerty, vice president of weather.com at TWCC. "We are building a service that delivers weather alerts in a very personal way, coming from your closest connections, so you know when they matter most to you. Most timeline apps only show your friends what you're doing, but our integration shows you which of your friends might be at risk in a severe weather event and lets you share that alert with them in a one-on-one way that makes it super personal and relevant."

In the future, the company is planning expand the "My Friends' Weather" functionality to local weather pages.