New tech blogger hangout HQ: McDonalds. Wait..wha…?
Maybe it’s a stereotype fused into my brain unable to leak out, but typically when I think of young, hip, tech focused individuals out and about in the big city, I see a coffee shop or cafe as one of their top hangouts. I myself follow and love this very same stereotype often spending many a weekend secluded in some coffee shop corner exploring the many nooks and crannies of the world wide web. Those coffee shops whom many have recently made the switch to charging for WiFi now have a new contendor reaching out to those who have a WiFi device attached to their hip — McDonalds.
The poster child fast food chain is rolling out free WiFi to all locations so that business users on a quick lunch to the blogger by day zombie by night individual all find McDonalds a new home away from home. Then again, some of us may actually live at McDonalds — well, out back anyway. Hey, you do what you gotta’ do.
At first it seems like a pretty stupid and useless idea. McDonalds is a fast food restaurant. A place where the average diner spends 15 minutes. Till this day, McDonalds hasn’t exactly built up a “stay and play” image. For children, maybe. Adults, no. Still, that isn’t stopping the golden arches from catapulting themselves into the digital sphere.
Now if we flip over that hypothetical coin, well see that there is actually quite a market here. As already stated, McDonald’s WiFi will be completely free. Many coffee shops/cafes are moving in increasing numbers to charging for WiFi usage on top of beverage/food purchases pushing away many bloggers and simple internet crawlers merely looking for a free lunch — figuratively speaking. (Though I must admit, I’d never turn down an actual free lunch.) Having a new location to continue the digital journey may not be such a bad idea after all.
Another valid argument pro McDonalds is that starting in 2010, Mickie D’s will start rolling out more cafe-esque option with smoothies being one of the new succulent choices. And of course, coffee is already served.
I’m kind of on the fence on this one. I’d certainly take McDonalds up on their offer from time to time, but blogging requires 93% of my concentration. Of that, at least half would be dedicated to obnoxious kids and even more obnoxious adults at my local Golden Arches. So as is advised in real life, you can journey on over to McDonalds. Just do so in moderation.
So I ask you tech geek, blogger, and all around technology guru who spends countless hours in cafes and coffee shops: Would you switch to Mickie D’s?
