MoCoSnow
MoCoSnow is an American forecasting service that specializes in predicting closings and delays for Montgomery County, Maryland Public Schools. The service is notable for its use of a pencil rating system to simplify the presentation of predictions.
Contents
History
MoCoSnow was founded by Montgomery County Public Schools physical education instructor Alex Tsironis in 2010. Tsironis was himself a student at Montgomery County, having graduated from Watkins Mill High School and obtained a degree at the University of Maryland.[1]
Pencil Prediction
The pencil prediction system works as follows:
- 5 pencils signify a near 100% chance of school closure
- 4 pencils signify a 75% chance of school closure and a near 100% chance of delay
- 3 pencils signify a 50% chance of school closure and a “very good chance” of delay
- 2 pencils signify a 50% chance of delay
- 1 pencil signifies a “really good” chance of on time school openings
The pencil prediction system has been widely criticized by other competitors in the industry due to its lack of flexibility and arbitrary wording. Furthermore, many statisticians have noted that some of the percentages (especially 4 pencils) don’t necessarily add up to 100%, contradicting the laws of nature and logic.[2]
Controversy
Prediction Inaccuracy
Other snow prediction sources have presented statistics demonstrating MoCoSnow's inaccuracy. Tsironis responded to these claims on his podcast by arguing that these other forecasters should not be allowed to exist (see MoCoSnow#Intellectual Property Claims and Legality).
Intellectual Property Claims and Legality
On his podcast, Tsironis argued "[snow predicting] is kind of my thing, so I'm pretty protective of it"[3]. He believes that MCPS school closings/delay predictions should be considered his intellectual property due to the amount of time he has spent doing it. Other snow forecasters have responded that the First Amendment protects their right to predict weather via social media. In the same podcast, Tsironis not only targets blatant plagiarizers of his service, but also slanders genuine snow prediction alternatives through false and misleading claims. Tsironis uses the words “hate” to describe the attitude these innocuous projects have towards MoCoSnow and denies allegations concerning Tsironis’ abuse of his teaching position (see Abuse of Teaching Position to Market Products). As a result, copyright and divorce lawyer Sawyer Mahm has pushed for a defamation lawsuit against MoCoSnow.
Monetization of the Prediction Blog
Over the past few years, Tsironis has slowly moved to monetize his MoCoSnow service. He began by introducing advertisements to his app, then did the same for his website[4]. Based on typical advertiser pay rates, it has been estimated that MoCoSnow earns several thousands of dollars in advertising revenue each year.[5] In order to maintain this source of profit, MoCoSnow has attempted to monopolize Montgomery County, Maryland snow predictions (see Intellectual Property Claims and Legality) and has often refused to provide his predictions through any other medium.
Abuse of Teaching Position to Market Products
A student of Tsironis accused him of abusing his teaching positions to advertise MoCoSnow. He recalled that Tsironis spent all of the first week of an academic summer camp advertising MoCoSnow, prompting that student to switch teachers.
Corporate Schemes
MoCoShow
The MoCoShow was a radio podcast show that was formulated as part of Tsironis’ scheme to expand the influence of MoCoSnow.[6]
MoCoDough
MoCoDough was another corporate scheme of Tsironis to expand his influence. It began in April, 2012. In this scheme, Tsironis attempted to sell waffles at the Washingtonian Center to attract customers to MoCoShow and MoCoSnow. However, due to lack of business acumen, the venture was shut down in December, 2015.[7]
