Again with the BBC (Baffling Broadcasting Corporation)

I’ve written about the BBC and their odd website and IT practices before, but this one is just plain strange. I was thinking about heading down to Cornwall over weekend for a few days R & R, so, as you do in the UK’s changeable climate, I wanted to check the weather forecast. So I headed over to the BBC, and hit up their weather site. Now I wasn’t sure where exactly I wanted to go over the weekend, but in the scheme of things, Cornwall isn’t that big. So I typed Cornwall into their search box and hit return. Before I go any further, I just want to clarify a few things. Firstly, BBC stands for British Broadcasting Corporation, note British. Secondly, I went to bbc.co.uk/weather, note the “.co.uk”. Thirdly, I’m in the UK and have previously used the site. When you take that into account, what happened next doesn’t quite tally up.

When the results came back, I was shocked to see that the weather looked ok, not great, but ok. Funny, I could have sworn the earlier forecasts said it was going to be miserable over the weekend. Then it struck me. Despite the fact I was looking at a British website of the British Broadcasting Corporation, and was in the UK. Not to mention the fact that I’d entered the name of a British county and major tourist spot, they gave me the weather for Cornwall, Canada!   Ask yourself this, what proportion of the people using that site are going to be looking for the weather in Cornwall Canada as opposed to Cornwall in the South West of England?   It’s just mind boggling, and a real kick in the crotch of usability.   You can see what the weather is going to be like in Cornwall Canada by clicking here or by viewing the image below.