Google will pay for free wireless in S.F. parks

#1

Post by petergreen » Thu, Jul 25, 2013, 9:07 PM UTC

Google will pay for free wireless in S.F. parks
sfchronicle.com

Re: Google will pay for free wireless in S.F. parks

#2

Post by jlgaddis » Thu, Jul 25, 2013, 9:35 PM UTC

Link to similar article that isn't behind a paywall?

Re: Google will pay for free wireless in S.F. parks

#3

Post by yapcguy » Thu, Jul 25, 2013, 9:38 PM UTC

No such thing as a free lunch/wifi. I suspect Google want to capture data which they are currently missing out on due to people using 3G/4G networks. Also it doesn't hurt to improve their image in San Francisco.

Non-paywall article: http://techcrunch.com/2013/07/24/free-wifi-san-francisco-goo...

Re: Google will pay for free wireless in S.F. parks

#4

Post by cromwellian » Thu, Jul 25, 2013, 9:45 PM UTC

yapcguy wrote: post #3

No such thing as a free lunch/wifi. I suspect Google want to capture data which they are currently missing out on due to people using 3G/4G networks. Also it doesn't hurt to improve their image in San Francisco. Non-paywall article: http://techcrunch.com/2013/07/24/free-wifi-san-francisco-goo...

For Google, $600k is a rounding error. It's the cost of one engineer. Even if somehow spending $600k could net a 10x return, it would still be relatively pointless. Remember, Google routinely kills off working products that bring in far more revenue and collect far more data. Google would have collected far more data from Reader alone.

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar and a charitable act is a charitable act. If you want to invent a hidden agenda for this, then the most reasonable one would be Good PR.

Re: Google will pay for free wireless in S.F. parks

#5

Post by ryanobjc » Thu, Jul 25, 2013, 9:46 PM UTC

I know there is a lot of negativity around big companies like Google doing "free" things like this. There is even mis-trust over a sense of unease at the notion of "there is no such thing as a free lunch."

These feelings are totally valid, and they unfortunately can prevent the rest of the community from acquiring a valuable resource. Free wifi in San Francisco (One of the techiest cities in the world) feels like a "no-brainer." Free wifi represents the values I would like to see more of in the world, namely cooperation, altruism and generally an increase in non-monetary exchanges.

As for the rest of the negatives, the kind of data Google might collect is statistically useless - the sample bias is just too strong. And since I have worked at Google, I know that many many Googlers feel VERY STRONGLY about not doing creepy/immoral things like that. You may feel differently, and that's ok, and I suggest attempting to meet and talk to more Googlers.

Finally, there has been much criticism about Google "not giving back" to the community. First, as an employer, Google pays their employees well, and all the taxes associated with that (see articles about SF's budget to a record high due to tech employment, and the boost of social services as a result). Secondly, Google buses, while derided, create a calmer, more peaceful city population, and massively reduce the # of cars on the road. And lastly by pushing forward projects like this (and I'm sure that SF city is preventing things like capture portal ads or whatever) I feel this improves the city.

Re: Google will pay for free wireless in S.F. parks

#6

Post by ripter » Thu, Jul 25, 2013, 10:00 PM UTC

This is awesome. I'm glad to see Google doing things like this.

Re: Google will pay for free wireless in S.F. parks

#7

Post by liveinoakland » Thu, Jul 25, 2013, 10:02 PM UTC

will it work as well as the free google wifi in mountain view?

Re: Google will pay for free wireless in S.F. parks

#8

Post by Shank » Thu, Jul 25, 2013, 10:15 PM UTC

jlgaddis wrote: post #2

Link to similar article that isn't behind a paywall?

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Google-will-pay-for-free-...

(Picked because it was also a SF area newspaper/news website, similar to Chronicle).

Re: Google will pay for free wireless in S.F. parks

#9

Post by philip1209 » Thu, Jul 25, 2013, 10:16 PM UTC

cromwellian wrote: post #4

yapcguy wrote: post #3

No such thing as a free lunch/wifi. I suspect Google want to capture data which they are currently missing out on due to people using 3G/4G networks. Also it doesn't hurt to improve their image in San Francisco. Non-paywall article: http://techcrunch.com/2013/07/24/free-wifi-san-francisco-goo...

For Google, $600k is a rounding error. It's the cost of one engineer. Even if somehow spending $600k could net a 10x return, it would still be relatively pointless. Remember, Google routinely kills off working products that bring in far more revenue and collect far more data. Google would have collected far more data from Reader alone. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar and a charitable act is a charitable act. If you…

I think it's more reasonable to say that it's worth it for Google to put free wifi in parks if a few of their engineers get work done because of it.

Re: Google will pay for free wireless in S.F. parks

#10

Post by Tycho » Thu, Jul 25, 2013, 10:17 PM UTC

yapcguy wrote: post #3

No such thing as a free lunch/wifi. I suspect Google want to capture data which they are currently missing out on due to people using 3G/4G networks. Also it doesn't hurt to improve their image in San Francisco. Non-paywall article: http://techcrunch.com/2013/07/24/free-wifi-san-francisco-goo...

Yes, I am currently negotiating my own settlement package with major carriers for access to meta-data on my personal browsing habits. I expect it will fund my use of public wifi spots indefinitely.