FREE WI-FI FOR THE HOLIDAYS!

Google, in partnership with BOINGO is giving away FREE Wi-Fi at 46 U.S. Airports starting Monday, 11/16/09.  It also includes Free  In-flight Wi-Fi on all Virgin America Flights!  The freebies will last until Jan. 15th, 2010.

Google says it’s giving away the Wi-Fi free of charge on BOINGO networks in the hope that people will click over to Google and see all the other cool free stuff they offer and try it out.

Pretty nice treat – especially considering the potential for flight delays between weather, overbooking of flights and just big crowds.

Happy Holidays Google, and you too, BOINGO for a creative and cool marketing idea that is appreciated! It’s really cool to be a Network Partner with a cool company like BOINGO!

The list and more info can be found at www.freeholidaywifi.com:

Google provides FREE Wi-Fi at these U.S. Airports from 11/16/09 to 1/15/10.

[FCC Disclosure: I am a Network Partner with BOINGO, and the link that I have created above funds my "Starving Student Fund"]

Ok, anyone who knows me even a little bit, knows how much I LOVE technology.  Making people look at me like I have three heads is actually fun, and sort of a talent I have built a lot of skills around the last 10 years….

Every once in a while thought, I get totally blown away by some technology I find!  This morning is one of those times!  I just have to share…

We were having storms come in from the Gulf around 5am.  It woke me up.  I have what I endearingly call “Barometer Head”.  No, it’s not contagious!  What it means is that when storms are closing in, my head feels like it is going to explode.  When it gets drier (like in the Fall or Winter here) it feels light and like it may cave in.  It’s not a fun feeling when you live in the TROPICS, but eventually I have grown used to it and may even be able to turn it into a tourist business when I get older….now that I am in college pursuing a degree in Internet Marketing, I could sell it to hotels along the beach using mobile technology for their guests.

LOL….I DIGRESS!

So, I am one of those coastal freaks who looks up the weather map on line to see what is in store.  Must be because we lose power so much of the time when we get a good rainstorm and with so much expensive equipment in our house that is tormented by electrical surgest and outtages, I like to be very careful (this is when Barometer Head comes in handy!).  So, right after I woke up this morning, I was online checking it again.

Now, our local website has put in a whole new “interactive” weather map that I have played with before — with much frustration…. because I am like a bull in a China store with my touch pad and one minute I am looking at the west coast of Florida – the next I am on the east coast of Africa, all because I drew my fingers across the touch pad accidentally. ARGH!  I was more delicate for some reason this morning and was able to drill this map down to street level!  At one point, it had stopped raining over me, but was still raining at the end of my street!!

Heck, with information like that imagine what I could do – it would almost be like those carnival psychics….I could go all folklore with the ‘barometer head’ and use my iPhone to drill down to the street level right in front of a particular hotel and then report my findings – which would always be accurate.  LOL OK! OK!! I am not going to really do that, but come on, it’s 5am!!

Here is a caption of what I saw.  I took it up a bit from street level so I would get a two color dimension on the rainfall. I had to wait until it slowed down at 6:59am so I could get some variations, we were all red for a long time there…

Interactive Weather Map - West Central FLorida 09-12-09

I was in light rainfall (green), while only THREE STREETS away, they were in medium (yellow) rainfall…and 11 streets south it was POURING (red).

If I were traveling, I would head north to get off the beach to the mainland! LOL  How do I know?  Because I brought it up a few notches to get a better/wider view…..

Interactive Weather GEO Mapping of West Central Florida 09-12-09-2

As you can tell by the color codes, heading SOUTH is a bad idea.. but the good news is that it’s light rain off the coast (light green) as opposed to a bank of severe rain (red), like what woke me up.

Cool!  I can leave and go get a Venti Pumpkin Spice Latte from my favorite Starbucks on the mainland, after all, I am now fully awake and excited about the possiblities of this new interactive radar, especially for more severe storms and potentially any hurricanes; but more so for my new business idea!  LOL

Wanting to know how much time I had to make this Starbucks run, I widened it again, and found out there is more coming, but I have plenty of time to get my treat and head back home before it gets here…it also looks like my friends in Orlando area are high and dry – for now, anyway!

Peace, Love, I’m out!  After all, once i get my coffee, I did promise you a full report on Florida’s Choice Health Care program so the truth is known.  I have charts to do and a story to write —right after i get that Pumpkin Spice (10,000 calorie/only meal of the day) Latte!  Look for the story later…right before I go to the Obama HealthCare Reform Bus Tour in Tampa this afternoon!

Yeah, yeah, no! no!!! I am not so much politically inclined, as I am just a firm believer and Evangelist that Health Care should be a RIGHT not a privilege!

I knew I had been doing “Internet Marketing” for over 10 years – before there was a name for it.

Finally, tonight I went for a wacky ride on the Wayback Machine, the Internet’s Archive of MOST websites past and present. They don’t archive any .us domains and many .nets and .orgs are missing too.

I was lucky to find several of the sites I had done in the past where we had used online Advertising to support several projects, dating back to 1999.  Imagine that!

Here is a look at the page that I am archiving on my blog about all the websites I’ve had a hand in creating over the years, what they were about and what caused the transition to where we are today.

It’s a work in progress, so check back occassionally to see what else I’ve added.  I am trying to dig up the old radio advertising audio files we did the first two weeks after 9/11 that used to be on two of our sites.  Ultimately I will find them, post them, then update this post to let you all know there are there.

Here’s to the future!  Looking back, I can see how Web 2.0 differs so much from Web 1.0!

Will It Blend?

Who knew a blender could be so interesting!  Kids do!  I remember wondering these kinds of things when i was younger – but too afraid to try it for feat I would catch a beatin from my parents when they got home from work (because, let’s face it, I am sure it would ultimately have been broken!)

This site proves that if you can take your service or product and make it interesting to consumers, without PPC, you will get not just their eyeballs and visits, but ultimately BUYERS!  Isn’t that the whole reason we all have websites?

This is a great example of Web 2.0 – they make it interactive so you can suggest things for them to blend!  In return they get over 10 MILLION inbound marketing links.  All for the price of a few blenders and some stuff people want to see blended. NICE.

I put this item on my wish list – unlike my current blender that has a hard time chopping raw cranberries for Thanksgiving Dinner, I bet this baby would take care of it in no time flat!  Now all I have to do is watch the wooden spoon (it blends)!!

Here is one of my favorites – Tom (who is the Owner/CEO of Blendtec by the way!) shows us if the Bailout and Stimulus Bills will Blend!