Farewell from Simonjk weatherman? Signature too commercial?

[Elessar]

Thanks Guys!

An update for you; I have received an email from YBW stating that they were not aware of any agreement and that if that is the case then they are happy for me to continue posting. Seems a case of left-hand/right-hand etc...

I can see how this can cause problems, especially if other commercial organisations say' why not us?'.

What I would really love to do is to provide YBW with a decent weather page where my forecasts, musings, charts, GRIB files could be posted. I'm sure that this would attract much commercial interest and advertising to YBW, can you imagine how many sailors would use it? A one-stop-shop for sailing weather! I could look after it, provide all the data and forecasts and make sure it's what sailors want and need.

However, to date YBW have not 'bitten' but I'm sure it's something that would really help you? You'd keep you visiting the forum, this would raise advertising revenue for YWB and raise revenue for me to enable me to continue adding new features. We all win!

Perhaps we should encourage YBW to give it a go?

Simon

Simon,

as I was reading the thread, I was thinking that YBW, rather than shutting you down, should try and PERSUADE you to have a more formal presence on their main site.

And you are trying to persuade them!!

Unbelievable.

The only shame about your posts here is that some mobo'ers miss them as they don't frequent the raggie section. Even more reason for your musings to be more prominent.

for the record, every yachtmaster, dayskipper and other course candidates that I teach, go away with weatherweb.net in their favourites. If they don't see the point in the weatherweb site I don't think they'd pass

To put a serious and well intentioned criticism your way, when I do show candidates your site, I have to make them get past its poor look and feel. No matter how good the forecast, it's useless if they've clicked away before they realise its value. IMHO this should be in your future investment strategy.

 

[photodog]

I don't ythink you do yourself any favours with that reply, nor the winges about putting links in signatures. If I recall correctly in an early post you comment how you do well from people coming to your website, and yet you are trying to justify complaining about someone who does provide a free service to us all.

Of course you could argue that the pics on your site are there for enjoyment and that we get pleasure from them, but ......

I was taught a long time ago to admit when I was wrong and move on, not to dig myself deeper in ... a lesson that perhaps need to be spread around a bit doncha agree?

Come on P-dog - do the decent thing and retract.

Jeez, how many times do i have to say this... I am not making any complaint about any signatures... I have no problems with simons signature in any way.

He fully complies with the whole signature thing...


What i am observing, is that in the past three months simon has put up dozens of posts, all of which are direct links back to his weather business encouraging us to look at his videos... He has only put two actual forecasts up since the start of the season.. Without fail every other post of his has been to promote a link to his website.

In the past he has provided valuable information right here on the forum, Now we have to go to his site, which is no big deal for us as it costs us nothing, But undoubtedly this is a commercial service and breaches the terms of the forum useage.

If people want to defend this behaviour then please do so, but shooting the messanger is just being silly, and calling into question my signature is just so utterly childish its contemptable..

I have nothing to retract, the facts speak for themselves. I have been honest and upfront and not just blown smoke...

If simon didnt want a debate he should not have brought up this issue AFTER it was already sorted out.. (as pointed out by Laura.)

All that i am saying is that it would be nice if he reverted back to putting more informationright here on the forum, instead of attempting to monetise me.

As he has said, he doesnt make any money from this,, so why not?

 

[simonjk]

If simon didnt want a debate he should not have brought up this issue AFTER it was already sorted out.. (as pointed out by Laura.)

Errr, not quite, just for the record, the issue had not been resolved when the thread was posted.

Just looked at stats and there are plenty of weekend forecasts in there. Also, I have regularly posted on other threads to make comment about weather conditions, point forumites in the right direction or made a comment to add to an ongoing debate.

Simon

 

[double_ender]

Keep it up Simon your forecasts are much appreciated . A synopsis would be great as when on the boat we only usually have a poor O2 signal on the west coast of Scotland so the video is out!. And it is tantalising to know there is useful info there that I can't get at.
Many thanks again
Malcolm

 

[simonjk]

I like the synopsis idea too. The problem is such a text takes a long time to produce and therefore costs much more than the video.

For example, the weekend forecasts take about 1.5 hrs to create and write and a daily synopsis, whilst not taking so much time, would also demand much time.

I'd estimate a synopsis taking about 30-mins to create, write and post in a bullet point form.

So, the question is, how can I cover the cost of posting that into the forum? One for YBW?

Also, I suspect that the amount of information your would want will vary from user to user, as will your location.

I'm all ears though!

Simon

 

[photodog]

Errr, not quite, just for the record, the issue had not been resolved when the thread was posted.

Just looked at stats and there are plenty of weekend forecasts in there. Also, I have regularly posted on other threads to make comment about weather conditions, point forumites in the right direction or made a comment to add to an ongoing debate.

Simon

Well thats excellent, I can only find three forecasts since the start of the season, not including todays rtir rush...

It would be very nice to have a small synopsis of the situation before the video link, as i mentioned around the new year to you in another thread... Its impossible for me to stream video whilst on the boat.

I used to visit your site a lot more when you were providing more information hereabouts...

 

[simonjk]

Yes Pdog, but the problem is (and I cannot say this enough) it costs far more to write text than it does to produce a video which is available across a range of networks. So, the problem is one of scale, simple economics...it is not about money but I cannot take more of a loss on what is produced.

I hope you understand and take the above in the spirit in which it is intended.

Simon

 

[simonjk]

What would be of interest is to know how many of you use YBW's weather service? I do not want this thread to turn into a YWB-bashing (we have resolved that one, and as I said YBW did it professionally and courteously and I have no complaints against YWM at all. In fact, I probably owe L:aura and RichardS a beer after the day they have had ).

Of course it is up to YBW who they use for weather information, but perhaps more of you would use a 'different' service which could include a synopsis etc... But that is a point you need to make to YBW, not me!

Just a thought,
Simon

 

[longjohnsilver]

Funny old (forum) world. Watched your 11 minute fx yesterday and actually thought that it would be good if you posted a summary as you sometimes used to, but understand your reluctance to do so. Is it possible to produce a shorter video instead?

I'm also thinking back quite a few years to when Kim Hollamby was in charge here and remember him agreeing to signature lines advertising other sites just so long as a link to the ybw forums was put on the advertised site. Seemed pretty fair to me, didn't know this had changed.

 

[SimbaDog]

Never even noticed they had one until now

 

[Tidewaiter2]

Hi Seajet,

Fantastic. Recording and plotting the Shipping Forecast is a skill ALL sailors should have. It's the starting point of being able to carry out any forecasting yourself, is the perfect aide memoire for synoptic charts and really does get you 'into' the weather story.

Is now the time to admit that from the age of 11 to 16 I recorded every shipping forecast, wrote them down and plotted the chart!

I wasn't your average teenager

Thanks again,
Simon

Thats a novel chat up line, Simon;
"Mum & Dad are out, Come round(ie; up to my bedroom) and see my synoptic charts"

 

[photodog]

Yes Pdog, but the problem is (and I cannot say this enough) it costs far more to write text than it does to produce a video which is available across a range of networks. So, the problem is one of scale, simple economics...it is not about money but I cannot take more of a loss on what is produced.

I hope you understand and take the above in the spirit in which it is intended.

Simon

Yes, of course!

I think that you need to look at the business model, and why you provide the facility, and the downside to your business if you dont... And there is a downside as you are well aware...

Npower used to have a thing... "turning customers into fans". Really the service that you provide here is about turning fans into customers... And actually whilst the video is very good, and is odvioulsy usefull to many, i do think you need to look carefully at the relative cost to benefit of the video, versus the video/text....

I think you need to look at a number of things;

1) how many fans find the video usefull versus a synopsis? The answer to this is clear... For sailors, the synopsis is usefull all the time, the video only some of the time...
2) how am i monetising this traffic, and how many conversions do i get per viewer?
3) by having more fans, would i get more traffic and more conversions, in the long run?
4) how usefull will the video be in the future as more people rely on mobile devices?
5) how much more traffic could i generate by having more mobile user friendly data available?


I personally think that just providing the video is limiting your audience big time, and will make things worse in the future.

My feeling is that you would do better to provide a text synopsis, together with a link to a mobile freindly version of the website with both the video and text information...

You can get mobile friendly web sites now very easily, we use a plugin off of our wordpress blog...

This would i feel significantly increase user numbers, giving more opportunities for conversions. You might also consider a twitter feed... That could be a particularly powerfull tool for you I think.

I also do feel you run a high risk of losing the ability to post your material here if you predominantly are directing traffic to your external site without a clear arrangement with the managment, (which i am surprised you dont have..) and or without providing free IP here on the site in quantity commensurate with the amount of traffic that you are driving... ( ipc can see those numbers btw... And they are worth money.)

Dont get trapped into the idea that if younspend more time/ energy its just going to cost more... Its about spending the time/energy ina away that is effective.

As you can see, there is enormous goodwill towards your service... So there is excellent opportunity.

 

[Rowana]

I'd just to add my 2pennyworth -

I think Simon gives us a real good service both on here, and through his website. I get his daily email which gives a link to his video, which I view daily while I'm at home.

When I'm on Rowana however, I haven't got any way of getting them. The daily Met Office forecast is posted on the noticeboard at Peterhead, and like some other posters, I have a radio-cassette which I set for the early BBC shipping forcast. I also get the inshore forecast from Aberdeen CG, and most marinas have some means of getting forecast off the web. I sometimes go to the local library when I'm in another port, as they often have web access, sometimes for free, sometimes for a small charge.

I've found this, along with local knowledge and experience, gives me a good view of the weather I'm likely to encounter.


My interest in weather started while was at school. We lived near a lighthouse when I was age 6 to 11, and I used to listen to the shipping forecast even then. When I left school in 1962 - OMG, that's 50 years ago! - I recieved the prizes for dux in maths and science, and one of the books I recieved was "The Observers book of Weather". I've still got it, but it's a bit dated now.

I bought Simon's book & DVD which I think are great. So, keep up the good work Simon.

 

[Ex-SolentBoy]

Never even noticed they had one until now

That's two of us then.

 

[Seajet]

Thats a novel chat up line, Simon;
"Mum & Dad are out, Come round(ie; up to my bedroom) and see my synoptic charts"

Tidewaiter,

not as long as I have breath in my body and my girlfriend has such isobars !

 

[simonjk]

Oh there were many..."warm front", "forecasting bench" etc....

 

[VicS]

That's two of us then.

Three of us ... and i have not figured out how to actually get a forecast out of it!

 

[SimbaDog]

Three of us ... and i have not figured out how to actually get a forecast out of it!

Thank god for that, I thought it might be me

 

[dylanwinter]

+1

+1

Dylan

 

[bigwow]

I bags the 200th post on this saga