I’m in Duluth for the US round of the World Trials Championship, taking photos and blogging for the organizers and the US Montesa importer, Martin Belair (a website/weblog client). I helped World Round USA set up a high-speed wireless connection at the Spirit Mountain lodge last weekend and that’s turned out to be a big hit with many of the motorcycle factory staff and journalists from Europe and Japan. One of the sections is right outside the lodge and I’m going to try posting near-real-time updates on the competition tomorrow and Sunday from the bleachers.
I’ve suggested to the Spirit Mountain staff that they provide wi-fi on an ongoing basis, since they have a series of events coming up this summer like the Greenman Festival & Mountain Bike Race and the MS 150 Bike Tour. The advantages of a wi-fi hotspot for an event:
- It allows more people to attend an event if they know that they can combine work and pleasure because they have online access.
- It facilitates media coverage of the event because it makes journalists’ job easier.
- The more that people are blogging and photoblogging from the event, the more the event’s website gets linked to which helps to promote the event long-term.
Let me know if you can think of other advantages to providing a wi-fi hotspot for an event.
