Summit Daily launches Weather Central web page driven by social media

Pop quiz. A winter storm has just moved into the area. Snowfall is heavy and getting heavier. What do you do? You Instagram it and use the hashtag #summitsnow, of course. And if you’re the compassionate kind, and you want to make sure people drive carefully and avoid accidents, you use #summitroads, too.

“Why would I do that?” you’re might be asking. “If there’re freshies, I’m calling in sick and heading to Breck.”

Understood … but first consider this: Use the aforementioned hashtags and your great snow photos will go directly into our social streams online and will then publish in the paper. How cool, and easy, is that? No emailing photo files and hoping they were sent to the right person — just instant connection with the Summit Daily reader community.

But wait … there’s more. You may have noticed the banner on our website’s homepage touting “Weather Central.” This is our brand-new page dedicated exclusively to weather. On it, you’ll find relevant stories, a live stream of reader photos, weather forecasts, road conditions updates and resort snowfall reports. It’s a one-stop shop for all your weather needs.

Thanks, Ron Popeil, for writing the last paragraph, we’ll take it from here.

Really, there are several new online features on SummitDaily.com that you need to know about. Basically, we’ve embraced the tao of hashtaggery and social media. Use one the following hashtags, and your photos will flow into our various social media live stream and into print:

#exploresummit: This is for all those Instagram shots that shout “My life is so much better than yours.” When you live in the mountains, you embrace outdoor exploration and recreation. Why not share those adventures with Summit Daily readers?

#summitsnow: This one is about weather; it’s about freshly fallen snow after a long drought. This is for those celebratory photos of the foot of snow on top of your hot tub or car.

#summitroads: Let us know what the roads look like (just don’t do this while driving please).

#sumcosports: This one is important, and it needs your help. We very much want to celebrate our youth athletes. Use this hashtag and that Instagram you just took of your kid scorching down a run during ski club competition will appear on our sports photo stream and in print.

To paraphrase Mr. Popeil, just hashtag it and forget it.

Ben Trollinger is the editor of the Summit Daily News.