Free Google WiFi + Location Based Ads = Smart

Bars give out pretzels and peanuts because they make you thirsty. What do you do?

Business 2.0 (via telecom wiz Om Malik is reporting that Google is putting the pieces together to offer free WiFi, at least in the major markets, and speculates that it isn't a benevolent act but rather a platform to serve location-based ads. (Via Buzzmachine)

I'll leave it to thousands of others to comment and discuss the 'omygawdgoogleisgoingto' aspects of this move.

I wish more online businesses would think this way. Not by laying out zillions of dollars to buy dark fiber, but by figuring out how to provide something very useful that their customers already want, which not-so-coincidentally puts them in a great position to buy whatever it is they're selling.

Google figured out two things that Free Wifi does for them: It puts users online more frequently (which generates more searches) and it provides them with info about where the person is (so they can serve relevant ads based on not just context but location.)

Finding online customers when they’re ‘ready to buy’ is getting more and more competitive. It’s a lot easier to find them when they’re ‘getting ready to buy’.

In future posts, I'll explore some specific ways to do just that.