Blog
The Accelerating Internet and How To Provide Free WiFi for Downtown
05.11.2010Posted by: Ben
We have seen a true explosion of wireless internet in the 21st century. First came local Wi-Fi networks, public and private. Next came faster data on phones. This trend will continue and market forces will essentially create better service for more consumers and less or equivalent costs. Would you switch to faster internet for the same price? If you could ditch the wires and get the same service, why not?* The speed of the internet continues to increase at approximately 50% per year overall. This trend is likely affecting wireless speeds as well.
* Mobile phone companies are pouring billions into network upgrades, with many introducing "3G" services (which are approximately equal to a DSL modem).
* In 2011 the next to arrive in wireless are "WiMAX" and 4g products with 40-100 Mbit/second (26 times faster than T1, 13 times faster than cable modem, equivalent to direct-to-home BTES fiber optic).
* According to Rick Boucher, in 2014-15 we will have sorted out the spectrum that was freed up from the recent move to DTV.
* In 2015, a conservative estimate is that your mobile device will be able to recieve 125 megabytes per second, or 1,000 thick books in 8 seconds.
* As far as ground-based local networks, the 100Gbit barrier has already been broken (1,250 megabytes per second) and will certainly be widely available at some point in the future.
With the local power of BTES and BVU Optinet, among other players, it seems possible to provide downtown-wide broadband wireless. How? If every business on State Street has internet already (a likely scenario) and they installed a $50 wireless router with public access and local network protections, the entire downtown would be covered, at a low cost.
I know for a fact that there are already multiple public wifi locations in downtown and have even helped someone set one up (more on that later). To me, this kind of grassroots internet is the fastest way to a very attractive and cool feature for a downtown area.
The main barrier is a fear that someone might use the internet for nefarious purposes, which is certainly something a single entity may not want to take on (like a city government). However, this fear is unfounded. According to the Bar Association "Under current U.S. federal law, those who provide access to the Internet to third parties are not liable for the acts of these third parties. Further, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and the Communications Decency Act both include safe harbors that state that Internet service providers are not liable for content transmitted through their services."
A secondary barrier is someone "taking up too much" and slowing down your network, like maybe a residential neighbor. This can be potentially tricky, but there are some built-in features you can use like blocking particular people or even limiting bandwidth usage on your device (Quality of Service). Basically, WiFi etiquette is that downtown residents just need to get their own dang hotspot.
Every business downtown should have a WiFi access point if they have internet service currently and it should be made public, with local network protections. If any local downtown business wants our help with this, we will give it a fair attempt at no charge (you buy the router).
Another way you can help provide continuous access is to turn your smartphone in to an access point or use a device like MiFi. Both iPhones and Android phones can have the capability to provide excellent wireless internet access to guests around you.
With an already strong core wired network in our community, if you have a connection to it there is no reason why you shouldn't broadcast that signal wirelessly.
Facebook Wants to be the Next World Wide Web
04.22.2010Posted by: Ben
The internet is many things. One of those things is the "web," which has begun to blur around the edges into new things, the most significant of which is Facebook, a semi-private network accessed just like websites. However, Facebook is becoming something of an alternate universe of the web.Facebook is everywhere. In the last year, if you use the internet, you can't have avoided Facebook talk. It's as though having a Facebook account was as common as email, but people who have yet to join roll their eyes and think "I don't have time to be facebooking." Facebook is simply enormous and can't be ignored, from personal social impact to business advertising and commerce. It's almost like another web, but now more than ever with a new change to "pages."
Here's what's happening:
1. See how Google works, basically. You search Google. A list of things appears, hopefully in order of "most relevant" or "most authoritative" to least.
2. See how Wikipedia works, basically. You search Wikipedia and find single "pages" of content that are about that search word or phrase. Often, Google will show Wikipedia entries near the top of the list. Try searching for Bristol, TN on Google and you will see the official city page at number 1 and the Wikipedia page at number2.
3. See how Facebook search works now, basically. Log in to facebook and try searching for an activity or interest. Try clicking on the "See More Results for..." link at the bottom of the suggestions box that pops up. Now this is where things get confusing. Facebook has created pages (that include Wikipedia content and posts from people with those interests among other things) that are public. Facebook calls them "community pages." Here are a few examples: (NONE OF THESE ARE CONTROLLED BY ANYONE BUT FACEBOOK!)
The WJHL Page
The Bristol, Tennessee Page
Alpha Natural Resources
ETSU
Get the point?
One example I just found was the "South Holston Lake, A Great Place To Be" page which was created by someone local and has 900 "likes" (formerly fans or followers) and the "South Holston Lake" community page, which reflects that 28 people have listed in their profiles that they "like" South Holston Lake or list it as an activity. When you search for South Holston Lake and you don't currently "like" the South Holston Lake, A Great Place To Be page, what do you think is listed first?
The Facebook community page.
Fail.
And this is happening now any time anyone is searching facebook for pages they want to follow... uh, I mean like... sigh.
With "pages" Facebook reached outside of itself and began to show up in search results. You didn't have to be logged in to Facebook to see results for businesses, organization, etc. What was a fairly simple-to-understand concept of "my friends" has rapidly evolved into something much more complex and advanced.
This week, huge changes have been announced which will have far-reaching consequences to users. It's something of a fad to complain about changes on Facebook — most recently the site's changing "Become a Fan" to "Like" — but right now, there is something of a paradigm shift that appears to be a possible kind of assault on the rest of the web, bringing information to us based on interests as opposed to searching the web for our interests, or at least joining these two processes into one thing.
You know those "share" links you see everywhere? Digg this, tweet that, post it to facebook, etc... Well, Facebook wants to simplify that process so that you are just simply clicking "Like" all over the web. Heck, why not just assume you "like" whatever it is you are doing on the web? Facebook will collect that data and begin to compile a much broader, vaster system of knowledge about your personal interests.
And sell it to advertisers.
The targeting power of Facebook advertising is already startling. Very different from Search ads, in that you can target someone's passive interests as opposed to their active searching interests. Pages are being integrated into your interests, so there is a direct flow from pages you are fans of (oh yeah, that you "like") and your "like" behavior in the world wild web.
Everyone who has a Facebook account or a business should pay attention right now — because 2010 is their year and things are moving fast. Maybe off a cliff.
Super Bowl 44 Ads — Bad Men!
02.08.2010Posted by: Ben
At least the game was way better than the commercials. As a football fan and a marketing person, I get to enjoy the best of both worlds on the big Sunday. I'm always hoping for a dramatic sports experience and the Colts and Saints sure did deliver! Sadly, the mega-agencies didn't...I will accept that men, in general, are the target audience of the Super Bowl. However, from the looks of it, the target audience is men who are whiny, pantless, sexist, and dumb. Fortunately, in my personal favorite, a young man sets our gender straight with a hilarious spot from Doritos, The Slap. Still, it just seems like common sense not to paint your consumers as jerks.
Of course, Google had a great spot (yes, I am biased), but you have to admit, it was a brilliant way to tell a story. Check out Love Story. Search on. As a side note, I checked out the actual searches used in this spot and they were very close. Google Suggest (things popping up in the search box as you type) is definitely coming along as a premier feature.
I have a soft spot for the Budweiser horse ones and I hope there is one every year. This morning, I perused some other "best and worst" blogs and people are loving the Snickers Betty White one, which was OK, but... meh. Godaddy, E-trade, and many others were pretty lame and forgettable. Even the highly controversial Tim Tebow spot that was supposed to be about anti-abortion was just boring!
The only other ones that really stood out to me were the Hyundai ad with Bret Favre making fun of himself. They have a dedicated Facebook App to pick your favorite spots. I also liked the Kia Puppets in Vegas "Joyride" here on YouTube.
One really important flop was the US Census, which just gets a blank stare for a review. Huh? This annoys me, as do the unreadable, fundamentally bad billboards you see everywhere that feature a Where the Wild Things Are creature and thin white text on light blue message that I still haven't been able to read in full in spite of seeing it 5,000 times. Whoever is being paid for these bad decisions needs to be fired, now.
As far as I could tell, only one local company (Wellmont) went all out and did something special for the event, advertising their heart center. I was a little confused when I followed up on the web and learned about a campaign for increasing awareness of heart disease in women. Did i miss something? Note: YouTube page and their commercials aren't there... so I can't really share them with you here.
Whatever you think about the ads or the teams, the interception by Porter, the onside kick, the emotional speeches... they were the best advertisement of all for the biggest sport in the America — NFL football.
Celebrate Green Week February 1 -5
02.02.2010Posted by: Cam
February 1 — 5, 2010 is National Green Week. To celebrate Green Week this year, Bliss is pleased to announce that we will be implementing an e-billing system in order to reduce both paper use and fuel consumption. Also, for clients with built-in video in their computers, we are always available for videoconferencing.Bristol Public Library will host several National Green Week events for both children and adults.
February 3 — 11:30 am
Greening Your Business for Survival in the New Economy
Presented by G. Dodd Galbreath, founding Executive Director of Lipscomb University's Institute for Sustainable Practice. Learn how to apply sustainability concepts in your business. Cost is $24 and includes lunch.
February 4 — 6:30 pm
Jeff Barrie Community Address
Jeff Barrie, producer of the award winning documentary film Kilowatt-Ours, will show you the top ten ways you can begin saving lots of energy today in your home, business and school. Barrie will also discuss the importance of individual action in improving the environment, specifically relating to household energy use.
February 4 — 6:30 pm
Jennifer Barrie Youth Presentation
While you listen to Jeff's presentation, the kids can enjoy a talk presented by Jennifer Barrie, director of the Kilowatt Ours Youth Initiative, which received the 2008 Governor's Environmental Education and Outreach Award from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. Children will receive a free energy efficient light bulb.
Preserving the environment is important to Bliss, and we are committed to conserving resources wherever we can. We look forward to learning a lot from the library's Green Week programming.
One of our main "green" concerns is the local environment. Each year we find ourselves in the Appalachian region enjoying the forests and the breathtaking sights, from the Blue Ridge Parkway to the Great Smoky Mountains. This area of America is affected by pollution (mostly from urban sources) and hope that we all do what we can to help reduce our impact on nature. Please visit www.dcr.virginia.gov to find out real ways you can make a difference.