It’s often been said that Brits love talking about the weather, but beyond idle chit-chat it’s also been necessary for many of us to keep informed in the last few days about how the snow has affected various services and activities. This is where hyperlocal news publishing comes into its own. Not only can they run their own stories through networks like their blogs, Facebook and Twitter, but these digital media also give their communities the opportunity to share their own information, most notably on school closures (parents being contacted directly by schools) and operational transport routes, news from the front lines. As the snow fell over the weekend, it’s often been essential when some services might not have the staff to offer updates out of their normal working hours.
With this in mind I just did a short interview with James Clarke of about their work in the last few days.