I hereby pledge that I, Our Man in Newcastle, will never post to my blog/Twitter/Facebook etc from an airport/coffeehouse/conference to comment on the availability, or quality of, WIFI.
I understand that the rest of the world does not care about the WIFI. Nor does it care what machine I am using to access the WIFI – however shiny, new, or expensive it may be.
If you’re reading this – please take the pledge too.
It’s time we put a stop to this.
* Sidenote: The words “wifi” and “airport” in Tweetscan. Here.
16 comments
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April 30, 2008 at 3:37 pm
minxlj
I agree – hearing someone whinge about Coffeebucks’ slow wi-fi service is a pain, and pretty pointless since I can’t do anything to help them.
However, prior to said pledge, am I allowed to post rare tech-related possible questions (on Twitter, never Facebook or blog) related to home wi-fi or network problems…? Sometimes it’s the best quick resource for help. I don’t want to be up the creek without a paddle, you understand :-)
April 30, 2008 at 3:43 pm
ourmanwhere
All that stuff is fine. The classic message I hate is: “I’m at JFK, whooo hooo, they got WIFI. Cool. Posting this with my new Iphone”
Firstly – it’s all just a bit of boast – look where I am and look what I am using.
Secondly – The world doesn’t care. If you’ve managed to access wifi, that’s great, now use it to tell the world something much more interesting that “ooh I can access wifi.”
As I just said on twitter – it reminds me of my Dad in the eighties when he got his first, bricklike, mobile phone. He’d ring and say: “I’m in the back of a taxi..AND I’m on the phone”. It soon got boring. I think we’ve reached that stage with wifi.
April 30, 2008 at 3:59 pm
Adam Tinworth
I just wish WiFi was so pervasive that people didn’t feel the need to post that.
April 30, 2008 at 4:02 pm
Graham
But I AM on my iPhone and I AM using free Wifi…
Much as I am inclined to agree with you, I can’t get upset about it. Ignoring it is easier or lopping repeat offenders.
April 30, 2008 at 4:07 pm
ourmanwhere
Adam, Maybe but it must be pretty pervasive because I seem to read it at least a couple of times a day.
And I can’t help but think that because it’s so often airports that people are sending these messages from – that they might just be showing off a little bit.
As an example I don’t recall people complaining about wifi in McDonalds – or announcing “Whoo hoo I’m in McDonalds – they got wifi”
Far cooler to be announcing that you’re in JFK.
Plus if you need it for work then perhaps you should take a break. If you’re using it for recreation – can’t you just read a book. WIFI isn’t a right and it’s not a necessity.
Because while I hear what you’re saying I believe announcing to the world that wherever has wifi – has much more to do with a) lacking imagination b)showing off ….than it has to do with providing them with genuine usable information.
April 30, 2008 at 4:09 pm
ourmanwhere
Graham..ha. Ignoring it is easier. And I only tend to cut off the Twitterers who have long conversations in the middle of my feed.
It’s not a big thing. It just bugs me. So I blogged it.
People will continue to do it – I will continue to get irritated by it. The world turns. No biggie.
April 30, 2008 at 4:14 pm
Graham
TBH – sometimes I do find it genuinely useful when some folk say they have free wifi somewhere IF it’s somewhere I am likely to be at sometime. Although admittedly, that’s not very often. And I’m not sure your airport impressing thing washes. You have to think about who they’re talking to etc.
On a sidenote, I don’t subscribe to any blogs anymore. If it doesn’t come through twitter, delicious networks or rss keyword feeds it can’t be important enough. In that sense twitter does save me time.
April 30, 2008 at 4:15 pm
Graham
Ooh and have you noticed a massive surge in number of people following you emails alerts these last few weeks?
April 30, 2008 at 4:25 pm
ourmanwhere
That depends on your view of important. Do you mean important to you making a living or important in the grand scheme of things?
Interesting – I am trying to work out whether that widens your sphere or closes it. The one thing I will say about using an RSS readers is that it is a great procrastination tool – I find myself annoyed when I have read everything and have to start work. I guess losing all those blog feeds would be tricky.
I am only just starting to GET Twitter but I still have reservations. While blogs are all about promoting a point of view or sharing information with everyone, Twitter seems quite exclusive.
I can imagine if your Twitter followers include assorted vips and media moguls then it is mightily useful. But for most people they’re on the outside looking in. In some ways it feels as much a closed club as old media.
I do think that its brevity is the key. People have less time to follow blogs. But I also find a lot of posturing on there. Name dropping, self promotion (as opposed to blog promotion for hits – which I am as guilty of as anyone)
The airport thing is a small part of that, and it was meant to be a throwaway blog post at best – but I think it is part of a relevant argument. Hopefully as Twitter users mature there will be more of use on it and less showing off.
April 30, 2008 at 4:25 pm
ourmanwhere
Graham,
Following my Tweets? Yes I have. Twitter – it’s the latest thing dontchaknow.
April 30, 2008 at 4:37 pm
minxlj
Well as I have my lovely, stable iPhone and Mac (cough, cough) ;-) I’ll seldom have the need to ask the aforementioned questions, but I just thought I’d cover my back so I don’t go back on my no-Tweet-wifi pledge LOL
Agreed that the overall point is, if someone has to tweet about having wifi in an airport/coffee lounge/library then they’re really stating the obvious and have nothing interesting to say. But, I’ve intentionally only followed people on Twitter who actually INTEREST me in the first place, so I know I won’t hear boring yak from them anyway.
April 30, 2008 at 9:39 pm
Mosh
Too late:
http://www.moshtour.me.uk/2007/01/back-in-india/
One of many mentions of wi-fi availability on my blog. I do try to make them relevant and useful though!
May 1, 2008 at 12:59 am
Mike
No way. I refuse to sign this one! :)
I am a guilty, repeat offender- not because I want to show off that I’m in exotic, tropical, elite locales like Pittsburgh and Kansas City but because I am trying to highlight that major U.S. airports like JFK don’t have wifi and smaller airports do. It’s part of a general theme of me trying to highlight the lack of wifi in many U.S. airports where there is free internet access at many other airports around the world. I realize wifi isn’t a right but I think it’s shameful that free wifi is not available at all major airports.
May 1, 2008 at 1:01 am
Mike
I should note that wifi is available at JFK and many other airports- I am specifically trying to criticize the lack of free wifi in public spaces at major airports. Paying $8 for access at Newark for example is ridiculous.
May 1, 2008 at 7:43 am
ourmanwhere
Mike, Mosh
I am absolutely sure that I have been guilty too. And it’s not the wifi posts aimed at informing people that I have an issue with.
It’s mostly the vacuous “whoo hoo – free Wifi” post.
In general though – like the “I’m in a taxi AND I’m on the phone” of the eighties, we’ve gone beyond that. Surely we move on. When do we stop being on the phone.
Mike, highlighting organisations that make you pay is a completely different thing. Those dicks deserve all the bad posts they get.
June 23, 2008 at 3:49 pm
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