I’ve alway’s tried explaining to folks visiting Ireland the role a “Pub” plays within Irish society. Perhaps this has changed? Pubs used to be the platform for social networks, in some locations that remains to be the story, the timeline, and in some locations there is a merge of the two.
Connectivity and the people profile are both key factors here. Those of us with children and different commitments connect virtually whilst having different operating times and locations. We still like to connect with mates when they are out and about. For those of us out on a night or even out for an hour, it’s dead handy to suck our email through a fast straw or check our Facebook. We can bookmark our location and let our friends know about the great night we are having 
AND it has free wifi. Two worlds are merging, that of the physical and virtual. The night out with Facebook and twitter…let’s say!
Mobile operators are also ripping us off with data charges, they don’t want you to have wifi phones, they never did, they know they lose the power over your bill when you start connecting to free wifi locations. This is a win for you and the publican.
Free and open wifi should be everywhere, that’s why we started FreeFi, you don’t pay a penny to upload or download, you don’t have a voucher with 26 digit keys to input, you don’t even have advertising to watch first. It’s a service, your publican pays for it, an extra service for you to avail of !…. tell your local publican it’s what you want. If it’s business as usual you’re losing business Mr. Publican … http://www.freefi.ie ! We’re coming up to St. Patrick’s Day… how many of your mates are coming home and could benefit from a free WIFI connection… FreeFi on the door ? Ask your publican Tourists coming to Ireland will look for Free Wifi because roaming charges are extremely expensive. FreeFi is here to help, it’s an additional service of value to those that don’t have a data plan with their mobile operator, those that cannot connect because of location and those friends and guest’s that are visiting Ireland.. it could be Rugby, it could be Sailing, it could be business either way the connected world will go to your establishment because simply put, free connectivity means more conversation.
If a cafe or pub had free wifi and displayed it openly in their window, I would certainly choose them over another… I would also travel the extra bit for that cuppa or meeting in order to get take advantage of free wifi – Especially when working abroad… Makes absolutely no sense in this day and age for them NOT to have it… Good luck with spreading the word and the wifi!
I wholeheartedly second that Suzanne. In fact I’m becoming more and more resentful of pubs and restaurants that have Bitbuzz or other rip-off hotspot and will go out of my way to avoid them if I can.
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Ditto here. If I saw a FreeFi sign on a door, I’d be in there in a heartbeat.
Is there a Twitter hastag eg #freefiireland to which we could post the name of places we find with it?
Thanks for your reply Mags… wonderful to hear.
Thanks James… very interested in your ideas on business and Nomadesk
Thanks Suzanne… really appreciate your input.
Great idea. Well overdue, and yes, for me it would swing the decision of which pub / cafe to go to. As mentioned, you don’t even need your laptop with you, mobile devices can also be used in meetings, ideas etc.
Thanks to everyone for their reply… this is very encouraging. Free Wifi everywhere that’s all we have to say about that
How much does it cost to advertise your venue through traditional methods, traditional advertisers base their advertising rates on the readership and circulation figures of their publication.
This is the traditional cost of attracting new customers and informing existing customers about your latest offer.
By offering FreeFi at your venue you will enable your happy customers to promote your business through their own social media networks.
FreeFi will also help you attract more business through promoting your venue on the FreeFi.ie website, our facebook fan page, twitter and other social media networks.
Increased loyalty, more customers, by simply giving people what they want, free connectivity.
I go to hotels and bars driven by the availability of free wifi. Then I spend 15 euro on average. I just don’t understand why places don’t want to get you connected as part of your overall customer experience.
I’m definitely watching out for the little green and white FreeFi sticker on the door. Without a doubt it influences my decision about where to go with my laptop/phone for a coffee during work or for a pint and a little bit of browsing after work. When can we expect to see more venues? Good on you, keep up the initiative.
I totally agree – “free connectivity means more conversation.”
The socialsphere is drastically changing with the onset of the social network adoption. Any pub offering free wifi will ultimately open itself up to the numerous social apps being developed for both the Iphone and Droid.
Free wifi is a huge win for an international traveler as well. I’m an American and when I travel with my Iphone, I take a big hit on AT&T charges, and as a result prefer to resort to wifi rather than 3G when available.
It won’t be long before every pub is offering free wifi, and where every entrance door has a twitter url & social barcode as I geocode with friends throughout the night..
Pub crawl + twitter + geocode + freefi = A whole new social experience.
You make it available, and I’m there.
Good post. You’ve just confirmed what I’ve been thinking about this.
Chambers of Commerce around the country should talk to you guys about getting premises on board along main streets to provide free WiFi. Maybe you could set up a “FreeFi Town” initiative. X number of premises/hotels/pubs with FreeFi would qualify for FreeFi status. I’m thinking along the lines of the Fairtrade town status.
Yea, free wifi in pubs is more and more becoming the norm. But outside of that you may need to find more. You should able to find free wifi listings in your area over at the wiki: http://freewifiwiki.net/index.php?title=Main_Page
My experience is that smaller independent coffee shops/cafes usually offer free wifi and you don’t need to be a paying customer. Of course I end up using it and staying for a while and eventually buying something anyways.
thanks Juicy