iWitness Weather, a feature the Weather Channel introduced in May, has generated a 58% increase in visitors to that section. Total approved photo and video submissions have increased 102% since then as well.  The introduction of the feature, which is powered by KickApps Corp. was part of the Weather Channel's recently launched redesign to make the site more engaging for users. The user-posted content is also geo-tagged, which allows The Weather Channel to place relevant videos and photos next to its weather forecast content.

The result is that the Weather Channel can tell a more localized weather story, said Monisha Longacre, vice president of weather.com product strategy and development at The Weather Channel. Now the site is planning to integrate the functionality in its online forums so consumers can post content to message board discussions about the weather.

AccuWeather is another weather-related site that redesigned its look and feature set to stay engaged. Earlier this year it relaunched with a streamlined site - and new abilities to create custom content.

In AccuWeather's case, though, its engagement capabilities are geared as much to advertisers as they are users. Forecast videos that can be seen on the site as well as on mobile devices and the AccuWeather Television Network is one venue for advertisers (via ClickZ). "Prominent sponsorship opportunities" are also be available on the Forecast and Lifestyle sections. AccuWeather is not reticent about the role it expects advertisers to play in its content - and has played in its redesign. "We openly asked the advertisers how we should go from here," Bill Stephen, AccuWeather's VP of global ad sales told ClickZ. "Is video going to be more important? Is ad integration or sponsorships? There was a lot of day-to-day input from the entire sales team that I funneled up the food chain for this exercise. Advertisers had a lot to do with shaping the platform."