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A very different kind of Twitter traffic
Posted By katie allison granju
I’ve started a new Twitter group called WBIRtraffic. You can check out the WBIRtraffic Twitter profile right here, and I hope you’ll consider signing on as a follower.
The plan is to use Twitter to help all of us in the K-town community better navigate the traffic congestion, changes, and snarls that will inevitably come with the kick-off of TDOT’s massive SmartFix 40 project.
We’ll have a number of regular WBIRtraffic Twitterers checking in from around town at different times of the day, letting others subscribed to the feed know what they are observing on different routes in the area. Once it’s up and humming along, WBIRtraffic will offer up-to-the-hour, Twitterized info on must-know traffic info.
This is admittedly a bit of an experiment, and I got the idea from Jack Lail’s shout out to the way one media outlet in St. Louis is using Twitter to bring users together to better navigate their city’s own huge traffic project.
We will also update the WBIRtraffic Twitter with the latest traffic info we get into the WBIR newsroom - including wrecks, lane closures, slowdowns, etc.
So, if you are interested in keeping up with our Twitter traffic feed to help shorten your own commuting times, sign on at Twitter.com to follow WBIRtraffic.
As I said, this is definitely a bit of a trial-and-error thing, but I look forward to seeing how Knoxville’s online community can work together to drive more effficiently and safely during what is certain to be a trying period in Knoxville’s roadway history.
Let me know if you have questions or suggestions.
-Katie
Apr 21st, 2008
Great idea. Just the other day, I was saved by Doug (RealityMe.net/@djuggler) from getting stuck in some horrific traffic on I-40 when he Twittered about it. I was able to choose an alternate path out of town and avoid the parking lot that I-40 had become on a Friday evening!
For those of you who have smartphones, I would recommend following the updates here: http://twitter.com/WBIRTraffic
Also, I use MoTwit to Twitter to various Twitter sites, and (if I lived in Knoxville anymore) I would likely do the same for this site. I think this is a great idea, by the way.
One site I would like to see is a Twitter site for local gas prices. And then maybe a mashup with Google Maps to overlay the locations. Doable? You bet. I will leave that to people with more time than I have though.
Oops.. I meant http://m.twitter.com/WBIRTraffic. That’s the mobile site from smartphones (Treos, Blackberrys, etc.)