Any major event will drive up traffic if you have information about it. On the other hand, I think it is unlikely a particular site will be able to maintain the traffic if it's only able to tell them about the weather after people have become aware it is occurring. |
I know I'm going against the popular grain because very few sites have a paying clientele, but I don't think free is the operative word, it's value. People are hesitant to pay for something on the Internet because they're afraid two weeks later they will find something better for free. |
I'm not confident the model will be successful. |
Microsoft has been behind the curve in the Internet space for a long time. This would be a gutsy move and would be the first time I've seen them take a preemptive move on the Internet. |
They could line up significant ad campaigns which would be based on the presumption that the kind of weather the company wants will happen somewhere. |