An aha! moment about wi-fi

Wi-fi is "bad" for restaurants and coffee shops because it encourages people to stay, taking up precious real estate, likely without buying more products. (Sparkys Espresso on 14th Street NW gives one hour free service with a purchase, and to get more time, you need to buy more stuff. OTOH, Cosi now offers free wi-fi to compete with Starbucks, which charges. I wonder if the Cosi signal at 3rd and Pennsylvania Ave. SE is strong enough to be picked up across the street in Starbucks?)

But it makes sense perhaps to offer wi-fi in places where having people stay doesn't necessarily cost you money.

From Shelf Awareness, the e-newsletter about the bookselling trade:

Bookselling This Week tunes into wi-fi, which some booksellers have installed in their stores to attract more customers. For Nomad Book House, Jackson, Mich., offering wi-fi was "one of our smartest decisions," owner Bridget Rothenberger told BTW. "It shows we're progressive, not some stodgy old bookstore. It's that extra add-on: 'And free wireless!' It really draws people in. I recommend it to every bookstore."Philip Rafshoon of Outwrite Bookstore and Coffeehouse in Atlanta, Ga., said that "a fuller bookstore is a better bookstore and one that attracts other people. . . . It's competitive positioning. Not everyone reads books--it attracts people who wouldn't normally frequent a bookstore." One nice twist to Outwrite's wi-fi arrangement: the store pays nothing for the service. The provider's compensation is that users see an ad when they sign on.