Would you like McWi-Fi with that? It's free!

I was in a Mcdonald's near my home in Huntingdon, Cambs, at the weekend and noticed something I regard as significant.
No, there isn't a deal on Big Mac's that needs your attention. It's the free wi-fi.
It's been there since October last year, but I'm not sure how widely known it is because I don't see many laptops and I-phones being used in my local Maccy D's.
And when I bemoan the lack of free wifi in London with the occasional tweet, the response I get is to point me to one of a handful of pubs in the area of Wardour Street.
Well done maccy d's. I'll be popping in for a coffee pretty regularly from now on.
May be risky for my proposed 'fat-off' with Ivan Pope and Russell Davies.
Find participating restaurants here.
If this is a global play (and I'm told it's free in some US MacD's but available at a charge in others...) it's a really big step towards ubiquitous computing where the 3G footstep fails to reach.
Dunno about you, but I never seem to be too far from a Maccy D's. That used to bug me. Not any more.

Nine Inch Nails free album: Advert as content, content as advert

Nine Inch Nails are offering volume one of their new album free.
Advert as content, content as advert. Engagement nirvana.

YouTube will pay for UGC - how will you respond?

I appreciate I'm a little late on commenting on this one (YouTube to pay video makers, BBC) but then again, it ain't as if YouTube didn't promise as much at the time the google deal was signed.
But it does raise some interesting questions and perhaps means the rules of the game have changed.
UGC has so far been created for the glory of it, the fame, the attention, the self-satisfaction - whatever. Now the biggest and most visual example of it (ok, Blogger could argue with biggest) is saying - make good content people like and you should be paid. Note this - not just rewarded - paid.
YouTube says it didn't want to start with this model because the kind of people who were attracted by paid UGC would simply move to a higher paying one when it cropped up. It said it wanted to build a community first.
I'm not sure YouTube has much in the way of deep community. It has a great tool and people share what they create with that great tool on and in other communities.
What they have is lots of visitors with money to spend.
I guess the laws of supply and demand will prevail. It's inevitable that users will be rewarded for how well their content turns into cash. And that's where the google adsense expertise will kick in.
I suspect the google payment mechanism won't be far removed from a google adsense model. So if you make videos which no one wants to see - no money. If you make videos about things no one wants to advertise against - no money. If you make ads which get people in a spending clicking mood - big money.
Since no porn is allowed in adsense we could see the end of the titilating tag words and a reduction in teenagers dancing in their underwear. Things could get spectacularly more creative.
But we could end up with a flood of substandard TV-style ads. It'll be an interesting time.

I've got away from my original point. The biggest issue for rival media companies is of course, not the impact of payment for UGC on YouTube - but what that means people will suddenly expect from your fledgling UGC plan.

You'll likely have less fame to offer - and less cash. What's the response?
You're better off if you are well niched, that's for sure. Big fish/little pond gives you a chance.

Any one got other solutions?

YouTube - a whole new world of FREE classified ads?

Stumbled on this today:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fge5zJRzvO8
While loads of media and creative types have been tripping over themselves to create free video ads (or marketing of some kind or other) on YouTube, now we're starting to see video classified ads from what appear to be small time US car dealers.
Actually, on closer inspection a small media company looks like it's selling this service to the small car dealers. Smart.
Perhaps this is actually closer to user generated content extending to the ads now?

Pause for thought.

They are placing this ad in front of a focused (via search) market, for free.
They can show/tell you much more than he could in a £30 classified ad in his local paper or specialist mag.
It's been viewed 200 times in approx three weeks.
So, the big question is, what kind of response do they get. I've sent a message to see if he'll share. And if he does, I will.

Of course, if you know your way around html even slightly, it's long been possible to place a video ad on an eBay auction item. But it sure ain't free.