MSNBC Prepares Content For Wi-Fi
Lots of news headlines today shouting “MSNBC gets into Wi-Fi game”, but relatively little information on what they will actually do. My expectation is that MSNBC will produce a “home page” with content that is particularly suited to the WiFi Hotspot user. That would mean having more national news coverage, adding elements like a flight time lookup, or weather in other cities. Does this mean they are “in the WiFi game”? I don’t think so. If I create a web page, does that put me in the PC game, the broadcast game, or the telecom backbone game? Building specialized content is a good idea and is the logical move for a content provider. If the MSNBC content is put up “outside the firewall” meaning users can access it free from a hotspot without paying for Internet access, that would be interesting. By the way, even with all the news and hoopla, and MSNBC announcing the “launch” of the service, I had to laugh that their own website makes no mention of the news story, nor was the service available in any findable way. Common business use of the word “launch” reminds me of a line from the Spaniard in The Princess Bride: “You keep Using that word…I’m not sure you know what it means.”
