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Matt Albano

Dr. Erin Dietel-McLaughlin

WR 13300

7 October 2011
Forecasting the Future
Gerald GraII and Cathy Birkenstein, co-authors oI the book They Say I $ay,
highlight the importance oI emphasizing the severity oI one`s argument and claim:
'Again, it bears repeating that simply stating and proving your thesis isn`t enough. You
also need to Irame it in a way that helps readers care about it (99). Thus, it is important
to understand the relevance oI my topic in the realm to which it applies. $urIing is a
sport that is largely dependent on Mother Nature in that waves are craIted by numerous
swell Iactors as well as weather. For this reason, surIers rely on Iorecasts in order to Iind
the best locations as well as times to paddle out. Over the past decade, both $urIline.com
and Magicseaweed.com have grown to control the market Ior Iorecasting due to their
accuracy as well as their consistency. For both sites, proIessionals analyze numerous
Iactors oI swells including swell directions, swell heights, tides, wind, and reeIs in order
to predict surIing conditions. This being said, similar to weather Iorecasts, both sites
oIten disagree on their predictions and sometimes misread conditions. Thus, in order to
maintain interest, both sites oIIer a variety oI other avenues to explore the world oI
surIing. This includes surI photos, videos, contest results, and travel recommendations as
well. They also earn proIit via numerous advertisements located throughout the sites.
Although a slew oI other surI Iorecasting websites exist, $urIline and Magicseaweed are
the most commonly used and consequently the most comparable.
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Despite their similar aims, Magicseaweed and $urIline present their material in
diIIerent Iashions. Magicseaweed appeals to the surIing community as a comprehensive
aid in predicting and sharing surI whereas $urIline is more so a news site despite its claim
to be a surI Iorecasting body. Magicseaweed is Iar more user oriented and Iocused on
precise predictions while $urIline is very commercial and proIessional, leaving little
room Ior user input. Firstly, the Magicseaweed splash page emphasizes Iorecasting above
all else and shows a list oI Iorecasting options that emphasize this. $urIline`s splash
page, on the other hand, appears more so as a magazine that highlights surIing news.
Also, Magicseaweed is an interactive community in which users cannot only view surI
Iorecasts, but can also share surI related photos and videos. $urIline is Iar more
proIessionally run and Ior that reason, user photos and videos are crowded out by those oI
proIessionals. Lastly, Magicseaweed`s Iorecasting page is extremely detailed, which
allows users to Iully understand incoming swells. On the contrary, $urIline provides a
simplistic Iorecast meant Ior surIers who do not wish to spend a great deal oI time
analyzing swells beIore paddling out. Although it is true that $urIline is somewhat oI a
business recently, these comparable sites present their Iorecasts in diIIerent manners and
magnitudes.
Firstly, Magicseaweed is largely Iocused on its Iorecasting and limits its news
casting to a minimum. The site emphasizes its Iorecasting above all else on its splash
page and Iills the majority oI it with Iorecasting tools. For example, the entire right
column oI the main page is consumed by links that direct users to speciIic surI spot
Iorecasts. This large section leaves little room Ior advertisement and thus emphasizes
Magicseaweed`s dedication to Iorecasting above all else. Also, Magicseaweed does not
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attempt to woo users with Iancy color schemes. Instead, the site provides a very
simplistic background that does not divert users` attention Irom the Iorecast.
$peciIically, the background is an opaque white and the Iont is a bold black. In this way,
users are able to Iocus more so on the purpose oI the website and avoid the
advertisements that many websites provide in their backgrounds in order to earn money.
Finally, Iorecasting is Iurther emphasized by a lack oI storylines on the splash page. In
Iact, current events on Magicseaweed can only be accessed by clicking on the
'magazine tab on the navigation bar. Thus, because Iorecasting dominates the main
page oI the website, it is apparent that Magicseaweed Iocuses on Iorecasting swells above
all else.
Much unlike Magicseaweed, $urIline provides users with a slew oI surI related
articles, which disguises the Iorecast. $urIline`s splash page is largely crowded by
numerous headlines, most oI which are unrelated to surI Iorecasts. In Iact, the only
Iorecasting tools on the main page are located in a miniscule column on the bottom leIt
hand side oI the page. This appears in great contrast to Magicseaweed`s main page in
that Magicseaweed Iilled their main page with Iorecasting links rather than surIing
headlines. $urIline also adds Ilare by using an appealing blue color scheme throughout
the site. This includes a blue background, blue header, and oIten blue text as well. This
greatly diIIers Irom Magicseaweed in that Magicseaweed uses a mundane simplistic
color scheme that is Iar Irom the commercial nature oI $urIline`s. Finally, most oI
$urIline`s splash page is covered by advertisements as well as surIing headlines. In a
sense, $urIline appears more so a news station speciIically Iocused on surIing than a surI
Iorecasting site. Unlike Magicseaweed, a site that largely Iocuses on its Iorecasting
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nature, $urIline diversiIies its aims and covers the whole sport oI surIing rather than
merely the Iorecasts. In short, $urIline Iocuses Iar less on Iorecasts than Magicseaweed
and appears as a news station more so than a Iorecasting site.
Magicseaweed is also very user oriented and invites surIers to participate in the
surIing community. To do so, Magicseaweed allows users to upload surIing photos and
videos that are then promoted by the site. In Iact, these multimedia Iiles are an integral
part oI the website and consume a large portion oI Magicseaweed`s main page. For
example, the bottom leIt column oI the main page is entirely Iilled with the most popular
user photos while the bottom row is Iilled with the most viewed user videos. This
demonstrates a dedication to communication between users as well as an aIIinity to user
input. Magicseaweed also oIIers a blog that Iurthers the notion that the site is a place
where users can interact. On the blog, there are a variety oI discussions including surIing
tips, surI equipment recommendations, and even debates over the best surIers. This
prevalence oI communication between users highlights Magicseaweed`s user oriented
nature and allows the site to appear as a community as well. Furthermore, Magicseaweed
oIIers numerous means oI connecting to the site through social networks. For example,
there is a link to Iollow Magicseaweed news on both Iacebook and twitter on their main
page. This helps users stay up to date on site updates and also demonstrates
Magicseaweed`s dedication to its users. In these ways, Magicseaweed caters to its users
and Iorms an online community.
On the other hand, $urIline`s webpage is Iar more proIessionally run than
Magicseaweed`s in that it oIIers little room Ior user input. Firstly, $urIline promotes
proIessional media Iiles throughout their webpage rather than the amateur Iiles
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Magicseaweed promotes. In Iact, user Iiles are rare on $urIline and are somewhat
discouraged due to an abundance oI sponsored picutres and videos that earn proIit Ior the
site. In this respect, $urIline greatly diIIers Irom Magicseaweed, which promotes user
Iiles instead. $urIline also Iails to oIIer a user blog, which limits the ways in which
surIers can interact through the site. The only way users can interact is through photo
and video comments. This strongly contrasts with Magicseaweed, who thrives oII oI its
user blog and the user interaction that arises Irom it. Finally, $urIline Iails to oIIers links
to third party networking websites such as Iacebook and twitter. In contrast,
Magicseaweed displays two links to both a twitter and a Iacebook page which encourages
users to interact with one another through other mediums. This Iurther proves the
diIIerences between the two Iorecasting websites, whose similar goals are disguised by
contrasting approaches.
Lastly, Magicseaweed uses a very complex Iorecast page that goes above and
beyond to provide surIers with every available resource to understand Iuture conditions.
The site incorporates numerous swell Iactors that allow users to truly understand every
aspect oI the incoming surI. This includes detailed swell height, swell period, and even
swell direction. Not only are they listed at the bottom oI each speciIied surI spot page,
they are also displayed in graphs that simpliIy the process oI interpreting them.
Furthermore, there is a large icon in the top leIt corner that shows the swell direction
relative to the land mass. By doing so, surIers can understand what reeIs will break best
according to the direction oI the break and thus earn an ideal surI session. The graphs
make understanding the given Iorecast Iar easier Ior users in this way and simpliIy the
large amount oI given inIormation. Finally, Magicseaweed provides a Iree seven-day
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Iorecast, which is very rare in the surIing world. This helps surIers plan trips in advance
and even anticipate upcoming swells Iarther in advance. In this way, Magicseaweed`s
surI Iorecasts are very useIul to surIers and Iorecast readers due to the mass oI
inIormation it presents as well as the manner in which it does so.
Much unlike Magicseaweed, $urIline`s Iorecasts are simplistic and brieI, leaving
surIers with concrete predictions Ior Iuture swells. Where as Magicseaweed displays
every swell Iactor including swell height, swell period, and direction, $urIline keeps
these Iactors hidden. Rather, it summarizes them Ior the surIer and provides him or her
with a Iew sentences explaining their signiIicance. $urIline also summarizes these
Iactors in a color coordinated conditions chart, which simply states the height oI
incoming surI as well as its texture. This strongly contrasts to Magicseaweed, which uses
a series oI numbers to convey the same meaning. Furthermore, unlike Magicseaweed,
$urIline only oIIers a Iree three-day Iorecast while premium members have access to
seven-day Iorecasts. On the other hand, Magicseaweed oIIers seven-day Iorecasts Ior
Iree. These diIIerences in Iorecasting highlight the contrasts between both $urIline and
Magicseaweed and exempliIy their diverse identities.
As Gerald GraII and Cathy Birkenstein wrote in their book They Say I Say
'Paradoxically, the more you give voice to your critics` objections, the more you tend to
disarm those critics (79). ThereIore, it is important to explore and explain possible
loopholes in this argument. Firstly, it is true that $urIline has developed as a business
over the past two years and has somewhat lost its identity as a surI Iorecasting body.
According to John $uler, the author oI the article Identity Management in Cyberspace
'We're not always aware oI how we dissociate parts oI our identity. However, despite
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the numerous Ieatures $urIline has added to its site that may Iorce these two sites to seem
incomparable, it has still continued to Iorecast swells with the same accuracy as it had
previously. Thus, the sites are still indeed comparable. Also, many would argue that
Magicseaweed can stress its Iorecasting above all else because the site also sells a
magazine that stories many surIing events. However, this magazine is largely unheard oI
and thus, creates little to no revenue. Because oI this Iact, both $urIline and
Magicseaweed would be wise to seek proIit through online news and advertisements.
This leaves no excuse as to why Magicseaweed can operate without surIing headlines and
online adds and also makes these two bodies similar enough Ior interesting comparison.
ThereIore, despite $urIline`s growth over the past two years, the two companies are still
comparable.
Although both websites strive to Iorecast surIing conditions, Magic seaweed and
$urIline go about doing so in diIIerent manners. Magicseaweed is Iar more user oriented
and allows the surIing community to interact while also oIIering concrete swell Iorecasts.
$urline is a Iar more commercial site that is Ilooded with advertisements along with its
simplistic Iorecast. Although both sites do indeed Iorecast the surI, both appeal to
diIIerent groups oI surIers. Those in search oI detailed wave reports that oIIer numerous
Iactors such as swell height and wind direction will preIer using Magicseaweed. On the
other hand, those looking Ior brieI and to the point predictions along with a slew oI
stories related to proIessional surIing will preIer using $urIline. Although $urIline has
developed into a strong business over the past 2 years while Magicseaweed has
maintained its status as a dedicated Iorecasting site, these comparable companies oIIer
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surIers vastly diIIerent manners to stay in touch with the surIing community and access
surI Iorecasts.

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Works Cited
GraII, Gerald, and Cathy Birkenstein. They Say / I Say. the Moves That Matter in
Academic Writing. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2010. Print. (79, 99)
$uler, John R. "Psychology oI Cyberspace - Identity Management in Cyberspace."
Users.rider.edu. Rider, May 1996. Web. 07 Oct. 2011.
Surf Forecasts. Magicseaweed, 07 Oct. 2011. Web. 07 Oct. 2011.
Wavetrak. $urIline, 7 Oct. 2011. Web. 7 Oct. 2011.