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Tagged buoy alarm

Feb 28, 2010
Media, Tech

Tsunami Generates a Surge of Social Media

The Mokapu Point buoy displaying swell direction oscillation during the Hawaii tsunami

In today’s Star Bulletin, Erika Engle discusses the role of social media during Saturday’s tsunami, including a mention of Buoy Alarm, which was flooded with Twitter traffic yesterday after people discovered the Mokapu Point buoy twitter feed (@buoy51202).

While NOAA utilizes a completely different system to monitor tsunami activitiy (DART), the effects of the surge’s ebb and flow were noticeable at the Mokapu surface buoy, mainly in the oscillating swell direction between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. HST. I suppose many chose to follow the buoy on Twitter expecting to see a dramatic spike in wave height, but when you consider the tremendous volume of water in the Pacific, to have it shift direction 9 times in approximately 5 hours is actually quite remarkable, and requires an amazing amount of energy. [Continue...]

Dec 14, 2009
Media, Tech, Workshop

The Real-Time Web & Tweeting Objects

buoyalarmtweet

The theme of the recent Le Web conference in Paris was “Real-Time Web”, and given the multitude of “live” distribution channels emerging across the Internet, this is definitely a hot topic. LeWeb founder Loic Le Meur’s current endeavor Seesmic seeks to enhance user experiences within the real-time web via online and mobile applications.

The real-time web is indeed an exciting new online ecosystem, and thousands of entrepreneurs are scrambling to lay claim to a piece of the pie. What a surprise to find a mention of Buoy Alarm amongst the real-time chatter! With so many other robust applications attempting to tackle much larger issues, such as real-time search, it’s neat to see our humble little idea pop up in the discussion.

Follow Buoy Alarm on Twitter, or my personal favorites Buoy 51001 and Buoy 51201, for real-time swell information.

Jan 14, 2009
Sports, Tech, Workshop

On Its Way…

Buoy 51001

The largest Northwest swell of the season is starting to hit buoy 51001. Figure the swell will be here by noon or so. Live buoy updates for buoy 51001 are available at buoyalarm.com.

** January 15th Update **

Buoy 51001 - January 15, 2009

Last night I watched a report on KITV entitled Big Surf Threatens Oahu’s North Shore, which used “Team Coverage” to hype up the swell and promote Haleiwa’s small business revenue.

Aside from learning the swell, surprise surprise, did not reach the predicted 35 feet, I also discovered what Bryan Cheplic looks like. I see his name all the time but never made the connection… the last time I saw that dude was in a Half-Point barrel. We all grow up someday I suppose.