There's no doubt about it public Wi-Fi can sometimes be a hassle. The airport wants you to pay a fee. Starbucks makes you buy an expensive mochaccino. What's a frustrated laptop user to do?
The answer, if a startup called Hotspotio has anything to say about it, is likely to involve social media. The people behind the free Android app have created a way for users to share connections through social networks, in exchange for small favors like a Twitter follow or Facebook like.
The service supports Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook, and keeps track of the various "favors" granted and owed in a user profile. Hotspotio uses a GPS-enabled map to help Wi-Fi seekers discover nearby networks being shared through the service. Users can share any network they're connected to, as long as they know the SSID and password.
Within reason, that is. Founder Simon Schultz says Hotspotio doesn't link sharers to their sharees (except via social media), so it can't be used to get around, for example, the captive portal security used in most for-pay Wi-Fi systems.
ConversionConversion EmoticonEmoticon