WSDOT Worker Who Hand-Drew Humorous Outage Alerts Says Goodbye

Of course, he said goodbye the best way he knew how to the WSDOT social media audience.

[brandedapppormo]

WSDOT Beloved Social Media Boss Steps Down, Audience Says Thank You

The manager of the WSDOT social media accounts known as Mike, is stepping down after 11 years. He is responsible for injecting humor with hand-drawn pictures into social media posts, while still managing to get the important information across. There is no better example of this than when a power outage knocked out WSDOT cameras and Mike proceeded to hand-draw simple pictures of the conditions, and then his efforts went viral. Mike's hand-drawn images of the "Roundabout Bull" and the "I-90  Median Bear" not only entertained but also informed his audience in a way that kept them coming back for more.

WSDOT Draws Viral Traffic Update

You probably saw the original WSDOT post last year because it went viral soon after it was posted. The Washington State Department of Transportation was going through a security hack at the time which had disabled all WSDOT cameras and their website. Mike and the WSDOT social media accounts were trying to keep the public informed, so he drew a simple picture of the conditions and the dangers drivers could expect. It included one driver slowing for the conditions, and another out in front with the caption "Who hoo, I don't care!" That is just one of the many examples of Mike's humor over the last 11 years.

WSDOT "Mike" Says Goodbye the Best Way He Knows How

Mike is moving up to another job and handing the rains of the WSDOT social media accounts to the woman who has been his #2 for years. He says in a goodbye statement today, "I remember long nights, early mornings, weekends, and holidays trying to bring you our stories in as creative & informative a way as we can. Sometimes the stories have been really hard to tell, and sometimes a simple drawing will do." Mike goes on to describe the team, "I hand things off to my trusty No. 2, now our acting No. 1! She and the rest of the team are going to do an amazing job pushing our social media forward." Then Mike signed off with his last hand-drawn image (at least for now) that I posted at the top of the article. Thanks Mike, and good luck on your next "illustrated" adventure!