Vox Weather: A Throwback to an In-person Experience

September 1, 2021

Take a look around – pretty much everything is automated.

Banking? Use the app. Talking to your wife? Send a text. Finding a life partner? Swipe right and pray you’re not being catfished. Need to find out why you’re coughing? Ask Web MD.

We used to rely on people for information. Everything from sporting events to “operator, how may I help you” to your general TV enquiries were all done by actual human beings. Nowadays, it’s click, swipe or scroll and you’re good to go. Which, if we’re honest, kind of makes us miss the old days.

Which brings us to Vox Weather.

Remember the days of sitting down at 6pm to prepare for the week ahead? Of listening to the guy on SABC warn us of a cold front with jokes dryer than the Karoo? Or even getting dressed mid-winter, clothes on your bar heater, watching the screen indicate the highs and lows to come? We remember those 7am drives promising the start of spring and, of course, being enthralled as a youngster amazed by the seismic graphs.

Looking at your phone’s home screen just isn’t the same, is it?

Make no mistake, the age of automation has its benefits. It’s always easier to select a cheeseburger on Mr D than explain to the lady through crackly signal that you don’t want gherkins (seriously, who does?). However, there are times and events that require a human touch – and we believe that the personal, face-to-face experience of finding your forecast is a lost art which we at Vox aim to revive.

Don’t take our word for it though – here’s what our CEO himself has to say.

“Understanding the weather goes beyond knowing whether to pack an umbrella – it is vitally important for people, both young and old, to develop a holistic understanding of broader trends and how our actions are affecting the health of our planet. Vox has invested in bringing top-tier credible forecasts back to the public domain, driven by a desire to inspire consciousness and activism around climate change and protecting the planet”.

Look, we get it, if we were on a first date and someone started talking about the Weather, we’d be out of there faster than you could say “partly cloudy”. That’s why we aren’t sticking a bunch of colours on a green screen and telling you it’s going to rain. Instead, we’ve committed to creating engaging content with a host that embodies industry knowledge in meteorologist Annette Botha. As an extension of our Vox brand and embodiment of our commitment to employing best-in-class, credible ambassadors, Annette combines knowledge, passion, experience (she comes from eNCA) and an overall sense of awesomeness.

The sad reality is that as time passes, what used to be staples our childhood begin fading away.

The concept of weather, learning about our planet, caring about the environment and understanding forces of nature are rapidly dying out. Kids these days are entertained by TikTok, sportsmen, superheroes, and Peppa Pig, yet the earth as a whole is sadly losing the limelight.

We aim to rectify this by making the concept of Weather must-see programming, combining information with education to hopefully reignite a passion for what’s fast becoming a lost interest. That being said, we won’t just stop at weather, but rather factor in sporting events, tracking on Google Earth, providing insights, and using real-time Data to make informed predictions.

We aim to show the world that technology can be used to great effect, especially when done right, and that no matter the season, there’s never a reason to not be informed. In the midst of cold fronts, climate change and an emotionless, bland way to plan your week’s wardrobe, our ray of sunshine is the silver lining in everyone’s cloud.

To stay tuned, you can catch Annette here, follow us on Facebook here, or join us on the Twitterverse here.

Oh, and don’t forget – no matter the weather, we’re in this together 😊.