In another “one that got away” fish tale, I had started DippingPoint as a platform for free internet access. I had first created a free internet access for dial up using a platform created in my two bedroom apartment more than 12 years ago. I was hired by a company that didn’t move on it adequately and the project died. I have always wanted to launch the service on Broadband technology, but I need a lot of capital to make it happen. People loved the idea of it, but I couldn’t deliver it because to capitalize on their desire for free internet access, I have to convert them into actionable data. So, you need geographic data, psychographic data, demographic data, and as much quantified and qualified tertiary data that can be gathered. It is usually freely given on sites like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and various other social networks… I just needed the infrastructure and the client rebuilt for better capabilities. Easily done with $50,000 in start up capital. Which I don’t have.
So, I sat… and waited… people constantly telling me the idea is great, get going.
Someone else got going. Namely, Google. The company that I think would both benefit from my creative and strategic mind; and hinder me from launching projects on bootstrap budgets because they can destroy any business simply by moving into the sector. Imagine Wal-Mart building a mega-store next to a mom-and-pop shop and you get the picture. Sure, I can snag a share of the market with people who don’t want to be part of everything Google, but when it is cheaper based on their myriad core capabilities; it prices me out of growth. And when you haven’t started, well, you have to start with something better and something that can’t be immediately replicated upon launching. A daunting obstacle.
So, DippingPoint might still be viable as a business in niche markets with superior customers, but this test by Google is one that points more competitors to the success that would be Free Broadband Internet Access during a recessive time. When data is not as important as “Free” and people are more willing to accept the offsetting need for the service to acquire data about the consumer.
Google is giving away WiFi access in certain markets.
Sesame Street Muppets wave "Hi" and endorse Free Wifi by Google.
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