Twitter is rolling out a premium local weather service in 15 markets, hoping to capitalize on avid users who turn to the social media site when skies grow dark.
“Tomorrow” will cost users $10 per month, giving subscribers the opportunity to ask meteorologists questions with a guaranteed response – essentially an expert voice to talk you through a storm. The service will also act as a community for both weather nerds and climate activists. The service, founded by meteorologist Eric Holthaus, hopes to create a paid community that both delivers information and acts as an activist force.
“When the weather gets scary, we’ll have a team of experts to talk you through it,” the Tomorrow site says. “When there’s injustice happening somewhere that needs more attention, we’ll let you know about it. When there’s a project or idea that could use your help, we’ll ask you to pitch in if you want to. Our goal is to change the narrative of our shared Tomorrow. The bottom line is: The climate is changing, and it’s going to take all of us to build a better world that works for everyone.”
The service will initially be available in Atlanta, Dallas/Fort Worth, New York City, San Francisco, Boston, Detroit, Philadelphia, Toronto, Charlotte, Houston, Portland, Washington DC, Chicago, Minneapolis, San Antonio, and the Dominican Republic. It hopes to be in the 50 major media markets by the end of the year.
Twitter has expressed growing interest in subscription revenue in recent months as it looks to diversify its income. In February, it gave an outline for a potential product that would let people charge followers for special content or experiences. The company is also considering letting people ‘tip’ their favorite posters. Twitter, presumably, would get a cut of any subscription or payment.
“We also think that an audience-funded model, where subscribers can directly fund the content that they value most, is a durable incentive model that aligns the interest of creators and consumers,” said Dantley Davis, Twitter’s chief design officer, at the time.
