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Get Facebook WiFi for your business

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Re: Get Facebook WiFi for your business

#151
post #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…

That sounds truly awful. How did you manage to enjoy your ice cream without wifi?

Re: Get Facebook WiFi for your business

#152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The clerk must not be familiar with Facebook's "Real Name" policy. I think that asking a store clerk is probably never going to get you anywhere though. They are the least likely people to be involved with technical decisions. That's something that would be better taken up with the business owner. What's sad is that the business owner would probably be willing to sacrifice your business for the perceived benefit that…

The irony is rather that the excuse they provide is that they want to verify people's identity to prevent abuse, but then openly recommend using a fake identity to log on.

The person in charge wanted to verify people's identities. The store clerk just wants to deal with the customer, his recommendation does not necessarily reflect the opinions of his employer.

Re: Get Facebook WiFi for your business

#153
post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Meh. Just filter what you put on Facebook, or don't use it. I'm not in favor of this, and I do find it creepy, but nobody holds a gun to your head and makes you log in and post status updates recapping your day. It's a trade off - the pleasure/whatever you get from FB vs the creepiness/unpleasantness from them having your information. If the balance tips, re-evaluate using the service.

The "don't use it" argument falls apart when you realize that Facebook builds shadow profiles for people who don't use Facebook. http://www.zdnet.com/firm-facebooks-shadow-profiles-are-frig...

That stuff is creepy, but I always find claims of such-and-such a company stealing "my data" a little weird when that data turns out to be very public information about me such as my name, phone number and what I look like.

Re: Get Facebook WiFi for your business

#154
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 Reminded me of this limited edition like counter, called Fliike. http://www.smiirl.com/

Is this a bad typo, or do I just not understand something:

> 2. Connect your _Fliike_ to the “Smiirl” Wi-Fi network and open your browser on any page. Set up your Wi-Fi network and password.

(emphasis added). They should s/Fliike/device/ or s/Fliike/laptop/ for this to make any sense.

Re: Get Facebook WiFi for your business

#155

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).

Do you have a citation for that US usage statistic?

According to this often-quoted study, 71% of online adults used FB in September. http://pewinternet.org/Commentary/2012/March/Pew-Internet-So...

Re: Get Facebook WiFi for your business

#156
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…

What, google is now the standard of privacy? Its OK because Google do it or something similar.

Yeah, beginning to want off this planet.

Re: Get Facebook WiFi for your business

#157
post #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…

Why not make a fake Facebook account? I imagine it could be useful in a number of other similar situations. (This is a serious question - I imagine there are real reasons why not, I just can't think of any myself apart from inconvenience/general principle).

Can you even create fake Facebook accounts these days? I have a real one that I never verified years ago, and Facebook would always ask for verification, but allow the account to still be used. However, I tried to create a fake one, and within hours, Facebook locked the account, and claimed it needed to be verified with a phone number to continue. I tried it a few times, from different IPs, and they required a phone number within a day for each account.

You could buy a throw away cell phone for verification, which is what some people do after I did a little research, but it's more effort than I'm willing to spend.

These were not obvious fake accounts, I create a realistic fake name, location, and a couple of interests. At the time, it seemed all new accounts would require a phone number shortly after registration. I imagine it's still the same.

In conclusion, I just don't use Facebook. If I'm not willing to bend over and give up my privacy, they don't want my business. So, I don't use them, and don't implement anything Facebook related across my sites.

Re: Get Facebook WiFi for your business

#159
post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've often wondered why they do this. I see more variations of items I just purchased rather than accompanying/related items.

it works for a lot of cases, e.g. buy a book and get other books recommended, not so well for rarer purchases like laptops or phones.

I still get recommendations for the same book I just bought, but in different editions/formats. Seems like it could be improved some more.

Re: Get Facebook WiFi for your business

#160
post #122
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…

I wouldn't be surprised if Facebook gets to access to data about who purchases what and when I would sell all my transaction history for $5/month. Why should I care if their ads are getting better when I never pay attention to ads?

I never pay attention to ads

Just about everyone thinks this. But you're wrong. It's pretty much impossible not to be affected by advertising. Sure, you don't click on the links, but the product placement and brand awareness is not something that you can turn off!

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