Got Flick r?

Week 3: Photos and Images
Finatic14 thinks Flick r is pretty cool. The Finatic hopes to post a Flick r mashup or other image later.

Finatic14 loves technology. The Finatic enjoys being able to communicate and share images and media with the Finatic's friends around the globe. When the Finatic was in Japan in 2001, the Finatic's jaw dropped at the sight of Japan's advanced cell phones; while the U.S. still had monochromatic bricks that weighed heavily on your hip, the Japanese had cell phones that were affordable, thin and lightweight and had full color animation and graphics. The Finatic is overjoyed that in the past 3 years, the U.S. has finally started to catch up. For instance, the Finatic thinks it's great to watch cell phone video footage on the nightly news or to share videos/pictures with friends around the country and around the world.

The Finatic mentions cell phones because of the speculation that Google will be introducing a smart phone comparable to the Apple IPhone or other devices, but with a perk virtually unheard of in business. The rumor is, according to CNBC on Friday 03/16/07, that the new Google phone would be free. The network and the phone itself would be paid for by the organizations who advertise on Google.

In terms of digital divide or socioeconomic issues, this may be a great solution. By having sponsors underwrite the cost of the network and the physical technology, the technology becomes available to more people. It was the money from sponsors that went into making radio and television affordable media, so why not do the same for cellular phones and the internet (Wi-Fi)?

The Finatic's question for today: Should advertisements be used to pay for the cost of new networks or technologies in order to make technology more accessible for all people? If this is successful, what impact will this have on advertising ethics and commercial competition?