TrafficTweet is the latest take, albeit a creative one, on the aggregation and distribution of real-time traffic data.
While TrafficTweet is an iPhone application, and performs the same function as waze, which I wrote about yesterday, it uses a combination of GPS and Twitter updates to help drivers navigate real-time road conditions. The app lets users send road condition updates from their iPhone to Twitter, eventually making its way back to TrafficTweet where it is displayed on a map.
Interestingly, clicking on a Twitter link brings you to a Yahoo! Map. I’m not sure why Washington-based Mobomo, creator of TrafficTweet, chose to use Yahoo! Maps rather than Google or Bing, but most of the links are for cities that Yahoo! covers with real-time traffic information supplied by TrafficCast.
While it’s arguable how useful TrafficTweet will be given that it requires the user to manually update it while driving, its use of GPS simplifies the process enough to cut the process down to a few clicks. I would still find any traffic app that requires manual updates a HUGE hassle while driving; possibly even more of a hassle than hitting a traffic jam.
One thing is for sure: TrafficTweet will only succeed if it can acquire a critical mass of users. While it’s eye-catching in that it hitches on the current Twitter popularity storm, I think there are just too many real-time traffic apps and services available that are much simpler to use. As a novelty app though, the $0.99 TrafficTweet (iTunes link) is definitely interesting.
