subject: Facebooks New Wi-fi Program [print this page] Facebook is undeniably one of the most influential companies on the internet; they dominate the social media landscape and cause web-wide rage with even the most minor of updates. Facebook has rapidly become one of the biggest players in the SEO field. Facebook provides a great opportunity for a business website to expand its targeted audience. It is something more than that a Social medium. Facebook is a direct channel for communication between you and your potential customers. Marketing using facebook offers a tremendous competitive edge for car dealers in competitive markets. There are amazing success stories and equally amazing monumental failures. Marketing using Facebook is about your "Circle of Influence". Could they do more, though? They certainly seem to think so.
Facebook is aggressively pursuing its goal of being completely ubiquitous. Every time it seems that they have started to plateau, they find a new spire to climb. The social network's newest stunt is their most interesting yet, with wide-ranging implications for the future of public internet access, and for businesses social media marketing.
The project, called Facebook Wi-Fi, offers a free wireless internet and router to businesses in their area. The only catch is that when a customer goes to use the Wi-Fi, they're stopped at a login screen. To progress to the internet, they need to check-in at the location through their Facebook account. If they want to keep their location private, they can assign the check-in's audience setting to be "only me".
Once the user checks in, they are dropped on the businesses Facebook page. From there, the owner of the business can add an additional layer. In the current test run, most businesses elect to add a survey that must be completed before the full internet access is granted.
Right now the Wi-Fi program is only available in the area near Facebook HQ, but if the testing goes well, it will soon be available nationwide.
This program could prove to be a welcome addition to the landscape, for both the businesses and the customers. Customers get the Wi-Fi at no cost, just the short hassle of dealing with some advertisements. Businesses get a free way to provide Wi-Fi, a commodity that is expected more every day. Additionally, businesses get the benefit of every one of the customers Facebook friends seeing their name on the wall.
Again, its still in the test phase, but if Facebook decides to roll it out on a larger scale, it could have a lasting impact on the way we connect to the internet while we are out in the world.
