AUSTIN, Texas — A mobile social network built around the weather sounds as likely to be a hit as a social network around ailing pets or French cheeses. But after landing in a very gray and gloomy Austin for South by Southwest, the dreary weather has been among the hottest topics of conversation.  That’s where Weathermob, an application that is like a cross between Instagram and The Weather Channel, comes in.  “Weather is something we all know and understand,” said Julia LeStage, the founder and chief executive of the company. “Try to go a day without talking about it.”  The app is simple. The service is like a combination of Instagram and the Weather Channel and lets users post pictures of the weather conditions in their area. Some people post artsy photographs of the rain, others of a blazing sunrise or an overcast horizon. Others in the same ZIP code – or halfway around the world – can chime in below. The app also pulls in the local forecast from the Weather Underground so users can see the current conditions in their areas as well.  As unlikely as it might seem, Weathermob is taking off. Since the app was released in January, its been downloaded more than 100,000 times and currently has 50,000 active users, according to the company. Ms. LeStage said that nearly half of the active base checks the app on a regular basis. And the traction is global. Ms. LeStage said that the app has fans in China, Indonesia and Brazil.  “It’s huge in other countries,” she said. “You don’t need to speak English to use it.”  The resulting effect, she said, is akin to the “telescope around the world at any given moment.”  The company, which is based out of Boston and London, attracted a seed round of $350,000 from angel investors about two weeks ago.  The company is deliberating its next move, whether to release a version for the iPad or one for Android devices. But the ultimate goal, Ms. LeStage said, is to try and continue to build a social community around the weather.  “Weather is something that has yet to be disrupted,” said Ms. LeStage.
Everyone talks about it, but nobody does anything about the weather. A mobile social network centered around the weather seems as unlikely as one for fancy cheese. But Weathermob, a new app for the iPhone, is trying to attract people from all over the world on one of the top conversational topics.