Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Google WiFi Going to Kansas City and other ideas

Recently, we discussed in class how Google introduced WiFi to the area of San Francisco. Nothing is free in this country and the only purpose of Google was to promote their advertising marketing for their own profit. How were they going to profit from this? Allowing local businesses to advertise is the whole new market idealism on the internet. Yet, Google is thinking to expand this idea to other areas that are worth it to their company. I don't think Kansas City is a big of a place, but is all about sponsorship. Following Tuesday's class, sponsorship is another way to promote a company's brand to consumers. This is not a new strategy but an old one. Is the whole idea of capitalism. How necessary is this type of marketing? In a world where the United States has become a modern type of empire, we have military places in every continent of the world. However, this is not the only way to promote our imperialistic ideas to the world as acting as the World's Police or the Savior of the World that comes to promote democracy.
     Furthermore, this new modernize world wants something different: capitalism. Maybe not the entire idea of capitalism, but a type of mix economy where private corporations give what the consumers want. Many have stopped relying on the government for help, but their reliance has moved towards these companies that give billions to charities. The Bill Gates Foundation is an example of former CEO of Microsoft, Bill Gates, to invest his entire wealth on new science and technology to help developing countries to combat poverty and diseases. In the end, the person who will be profiting from this is going to be Bill Gates. I won't deny this strategy works, it works perfectly well. I received a Microsoft Scholarship not too long ago together with a laptop and $8,000 for my tuition. This scholarship not only made me happy, but I felt like Microsoft was my savior at that moment. I just wanted to be part of Team Microsoft and not Apple. Since then, I bought a new laptop, and guess what? It was a Microsoft Windows laptop. What I'm trying to emphasize is that our government promotes democracy through military and we see private U.S corporations promoting our economic system through all of their charity work and sponsorship.
Obviously since the death of the Soviet communism, the two optional economic system was brought just to one.  As of now, it has worked well for many developing nations. Nevertheless, the government has to come to an agreement to try to separate themselves from the economy (except in the case of China into some extent).
Movements.org is not only a not-for-profit organization that is trying to change the political landscape through new technology in areas where our nation has an interest of being there. Going back to the whole idea of Google expanding their free WiFi to different U.S cities, let's remember that Google already might have plans to expand these ideas to other areas around the world. Even though private corporations tend to help combat certain issues having their own interest in mind, it always becomes an unstoppable cycle. Many people are suffering because of this capitalist system, and private industries try to show the other side of the coin by saying they care, which in certain cases they do help, but not completely.  This is another way to promote capitalist ideas to the world.

4 comments:

  1. I know I should be commenting on your argument, but I am going to nitpick and point out that it isn't WIFI they are giving away and it's not going to be free.
    It's superfast broadband (faster than anything anywhere else in the country by degrees I'm not sure if I could accurately convey to you with the numbers, it needs to be seen to be believed) at an affordable rate, but it's not wireless and it's not free.
    And I'm suddenly thinking about moving to Kansas. Typing that sentence made me throw up a little in my mouth; this is how fast Google's internet connection is going to be.

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  2. I don't know why is it taking too long for our nation to give access to super fast broadband Internet like the one from South Korea or Japan. The technology is there.

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  3. and then there are high speed trains...

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  4. Yes, high speed trains, PLEASE.
    But really, Japan is about the size of California and South Korea is about 1/3 the size of Japan if I'm not mistaken.
    We need [more, way way way more] government money to achieve the same coverage with the setup we've got here and now.
    Sadly, this inadequacy will likely contribute to the acceptance by our gov. of the AT&T takeover of T-Mobile, because they are promising massive high speed coverage in rural areas to sweeten the package.
    Ironically, this is actually also a really bad thing because the Congress and FCC have failed to do anything to guarantee net neutrality and the FCC has decided they are only going to try and enforce it for internet providers whose distribution to consumers occurs through wired networks. Ugh..

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