Social Science Roles Impact: High Visibility via Media (TV, Radio, Internet) – Can Shape Public Perception Demographics and Research: knowledge of user base – tailoring to needs (to the masses, not the minors); Business Decisions influence products Communication: Greater need for Spanish and other languages, sensitivity to words and phrases. Requested use of words/phrases by client for relation to their customers (example: Criminology and “full moon”) Connecting: Meteorologists ware many different hats, more than just weather talents used - communicators. Need to keep factors such as “verbage” and enthusiasm in mind (example: showing excitement for severe weather)

Social Science Roles in B2B Forecasting Interview Client – What forecast information is needed? What problem is the client trying to solve? Saving money, lives, time? What info is most important to the user? You don’t want important alerts to get lost in the verbiage of a forecast. Highlight the highlights in the deliverable What are the “Thresholds of pain”? Ask the users what sort of weather causes losses. Is it gusts over 40mph? 50mph? Supply meteorological support in determining these levels if they don’t know. Formulate the best product based on client needs – What is the deliverable? - is the best product a faxed list of temperatures or a 20 minute morning briefing When is the deliverable? Delivery time determined by needs and ability to provide the most accurate information. What are the decision making timelines? Hours of operation? How is it delivered? Timely delivery mode determined by client access to information. Fax, , PDF, phone calls, IMs, ppt briefings, conference calls

Social Science Roles  How do our viewers understand and use weather information? Trust: 2004 FEMA Post Hurricane Charley Assessment: file:///D:/2004assessment/Assessments/2004Storms/2004_hurricane_season_page.htm –87% to 94% interviewees “generally trust” local TV/radio as source for hurricane information –45% to 54% “relied a great deal” on The Weather Channel for information »2 nd most frequently cited source of information But…do they understand ? “Citizens indicated watches and warnings are a major factor in their decision to evacuate. However, nearly half of the respondents cannot define what NOAA Hurricane Watches and Warnings mean.” file:///D:/2004assessment/Assessments/2004Storms/2004_hurricane_season_page.htm

Social Science Roles  How do our viewers gather and use weather information? “On Demand” Access: Nearly 209 million Americans (69% of population) use the Internet an average of 31.4 hours/month »Source: Nielsen/NetRatings and comScore Networks: Engagement: New sources, new participation –Becoming active users vs. passive consumers –Blogs, mobile phones, camera phones, PDAs, widgets, iPods…iPhones