In what amounts to a nice step forward for public safety, it looks like the National Weather Service is engaging online advertising networks to insert banner ads warning of severe weather, based on a reader’s location. Earlier today while checking on my hockey blog, On The Forecheck, I noticed the banner ad you see to the right here.
At first I wondered if this was just another example of false advertising, which is all too common in the banner industry (what, you thought President Obama had personally extended you an invitation to refinance your home?), but when I decided to click through the banner it took me to a genuine Tornado Warning which was both timely and geographically relevant to my current location.
Color me impressed, National Weather Service!
While this might seem to be a natural extension of the alert systems which have been common in TV and radio for decades, it does represent an important step forward due to the number of people who at any given time, may not be tuned in to traditional communication channels. I know my kids have been on a Wizard of Oz kick lately, but I’d prefer to avoid getting swept up in a twister all the same.
I wonder if this is National Weather Service, or if Google is actually doing their part in this with their latest ‘Google Alerts’ functionality. Would be interesting to find out, but regardless it is a great feature!
Jayson, these emergency messages are a served through a partnership between The National Weather Service and ValueClick. There is a video about the ad technology that uses third party cookies during local emergencies to replace banner ads with emergency messages. See http://www.valueclick.com/emergency_messaging.
Jayson- Here is some additional information for you. Take care. http://www.valueclick.com/emergency_messaging