Live data from Hacker News

Get Facebook WiFi for your business

facebook.com

101–110 of 293 posts

Re: Get Facebook WiFi for your business

#101
post #52

This has been available for several months now. To answer a few questions I've seen, it uses a typical captive portal approach, so an unencrypted WiFi hotspot. Upon connection, you are redirected to an encrypted site with embedded Facebook account verification, at which point you can go wherever the Internet service lets you. The router typically has content filtering and also tracks Internet usage (bandwidth, visite…

If your business depends on WiFi (e.g. Coffee Shop), this could potentially hurt business. Only ~50-70% of US Internet users use Facebook and that is dropping. As a business owner I'd be concerned about alienation. Facebook is far from universal and many avoid it (especially the younger crowd).

Do you have a citation for that US usage statistic?

Re: Get Facebook WiFi for your business

#102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If your business depends on WiFi (e.g. Coffee Shop), this could potentially hurt business. Only ~50-70% of US Internet users use Facebook and that is dropping. As a business owner I'd be concerned about alienation. Facebook is far from universal and many avoid it (especially the younger crowd).

A hybrid approach would be nice for your example: check in on Facebook to get online yourself, or go ask the barista for the WiFi password

More likely: there will be no hybrid approach and you'll see a piece of paper tacked to the bulletin board: "House throwaway Facebook account login for those without an account."

Re: Get Facebook WiFi for your business

#103
post #2

And so Facebook encroaches upon the physical world to anchor itself -- storefront businesses will come to rely on Facebook to sell personalized ads. I wouldn't be surprised if Facebook gets to access data about who purchases what and when. If you don't think Google will be doing the same thing with LTE-enabled cars, think again. Their partnership with automakers is no small challenge, and the data gathering opportuni…

They use bing.

Re: Get Facebook WiFi for your business

#104
post #52

This has been available for several months now. To answer a few questions I've seen, it uses a typical captive portal approach, so an unencrypted WiFi hotspot. Upon connection, you are redirected to an encrypted site with embedded Facebook account verification, at which point you can go wherever the Internet service lets you. The router typically has content filtering and also tracks Internet usage (bandwidth, visite…

Does the system let you create a new facebook account or only login with an existing one? If I were to see this system in place, I'd just create a new fake facebook account. So long as the system doesn't have some draconian 'log in with an account older than 1 month with 10 friends' type thing, I don't think I'd mind, and I'm solidly in the 'facebook is evil' crowd.

Doesn't draconian normally mean excessive? It wouldn't be draconian considering you're proposing to engage in the exact abuse such a measure would be meant to fix.

Re: Get Facebook WiFi for your business

#105
post #91
post #8

> Customers simply check in to your location on Facebook to connect to free Wi-Fi wow. not only do they get you to sign up for an account, they also get more insight into your movements/migrations by forcing you to use a feature that (for now) you can disable. nobody says you have to use the service but we'll see how many more sell out for it. edit: read more How do I edit the Wi-Fi code my customers use to skip chec…

If you don't like it, don't buy a Facebook WiFi router. For our business use case, this is perfect.

... or don't go to a business that has purchased a Facebook WiFi router.

Re: Get Facebook WiFi for your business

#106
post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is not optional for users who do not have Facebook.

I guess those users have the choice of signing up for Facebook, or not using the Free WiFi?

before, we could use the free wifi without a facebook account

Re: Get Facebook WiFi for your business

#107
post #92
post #2

And so Facebook encroaches upon the physical world to anchor itself -- storefront businesses will come to rely on Facebook to sell personalized ads. I wouldn't be surprised if Facebook gets to access data about who purchases what and when. If you don't think Google will be doing the same thing with LTE-enabled cars, think again. Their partnership with automakers is no small challenge, and the data gathering opportuni…

And so Facebook encroaches upon the physical world to anchor itself Not sure if you intended to sound so pessimistic but surely that's only a good thing? From a business perspective, this is an incredibly clever service. From a users perspective, this is an incredibly useful service. Everyone seems to forget that Facebook users are not the consumer, they are the product being sold. If, by using this service, Facebook…

Some people legitimately can be though. I take that statement as an axiom.

Re: Get Facebook WiFi for your business

#108
post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What sort of problem is this exactly solving? People seem to get at Wifi no problem at all. Just wander into any Starbucks around 4PM, especially in New York or any major metro and you'll see hordes of people accessing wifi. Is it crowded? Sure? But this doesn't solve that problem. This just eliminates some login steps and provides value to the provider of the wifi. Do you feel that trading in your privacy to simplif…

Here in the UK most 'free' hotspot providers like BT or The Cloud already require you to register and give up your personal information to get access. When I've been travelling abroad I've encountered hotspots that require a (local) mobile phone number to get access. Today I accessed a wifi network that wouldn't let me get access unless I agreed to receive marketing material. I see this as an easier way to get access…

Interesting. I've never seen that in the Nordic countries or the US. Typically either the wifi is just open entirely, or there's a WPA password written on a little card by the cash register. Helsinki even has open wifi across the whole downtown, and in Denmark all the Baresso locations have open wifi (no login or password). Does the UK have laws requiring the hotspot providers to collect that information, or are they doing it of their own accord for marketing or abuse-reduction reasons?

Re: Get Facebook WiFi for your business

#109
Real conversation happened to me in an ice cream shop with a home-brewed facebook captive portal in Cambridge, MA.

me: Excuse me, is there a way to log into the wifi if you don't have a facebook account?

clerk: No, we've had a lots people doing illegal stuff on our wifi, so we need to verify their identity.

me: I understand, however I don't have a facebook account. Would you like to verify my identity with a photo id?

clerk: No, you'll need to get a facebook account.

me: I have serious concerns about my privacy. I will not make one just for the sake of getting online here.

clerk: Just make one with a fake name!

me: …

Re: Get Facebook WiFi for your business

#110
post #2

And so Facebook encroaches upon the physical world to anchor itself -- storefront businesses will come to rely on Facebook to sell personalized ads. I wouldn't be surprised if Facebook gets to access data about who purchases what and when. If you don't think Google will be doing the same thing with LTE-enabled cars, think again. Their partnership with automakers is no small challenge, and the data gathering opportuni…

>Google can know that most Honda Civic drivers in Chicago (for example) park next to McDonald's, and that their phones traveled inside the restaurant

This is already in beta testing.

http://marketingland.com/google-quietly-testing-offline-stor...

>Google is beta-testing a program that uses smartphone location data to determine when consumers visit stores, according to agency executives briefed on the program by Google employees. Google then connects these store visits to Google searches conducted on smartphones in an attempt to prove that its mobile ads do, in fact, work. Google is reportedly using location in the background (on Android and iOS) and its database of business locations (my guess) to determine when people visit stores.

>Disabling location reporting also disables Google Now features tied to location, which may be undesirable.

It also explains why they killed Skyhook. http://www.theverge.com/2011/05/12/google-android-skyhook-la...

Post reply on HN