As many of you know this year at the Democratic National Convention in Denver there are more bloggers than ever covering the happenings 24/7. However, in order for a blogger to really be successful covering a live event you absolutely need consistent internet access. Internet access and “live blogging” is a marriage kinda-like ‘turkey and swiss’ or ‘cherry and pie’ or ‘Obama and Biden.’ There have been various reports from bloggers complaining that the convention center WiFi access is weak and as of yesterday wasn’t even available. Bloggers are crying foul and are pissed that they have to rely on getting free WiFi from the bloggers tent, a few blocks away from the convention center or their hotel. BLOGGERS STOP YOUR WHINING!
If you are a real blogger and you are covering a “live” event you can’t rely on others to provide you with access you have to ensure you have the access when and where you need it. My solution to all the WiFi-lacking cry-babies? Step your game up invest in a cellular broadband card. If you are serious about blogging then you can’t afford to not have the internet where you are-that’s the whole point. I took the time to review a few broadband cards and services and so far in my testing of Sprint, AT&T and Verizon – the Verizon EVDO service is my recommended choice. If you need internet access on the go and need to send large files or do more than what you can do on a cellphone then a broadband card and service would be a smart investment for you. My recommended card is the Verizon V740, (costs $49w/2yr contract) this is an express card not a PCMCIA card. This brings up one other point, if you want ultimate flexibility then look at buying a USB card like the Verizon USB727 (cost: Free w/2yr contract). These cards can fetch average download speeds of 600 kilobits per second to 1.4 meg per second and average upload of 400-700kbps. This breaks down to downloading a 1 meg file in less than 10 seconds and uploading a 1 meg file under 15 seconds.
So, to all my bloggers and biz professionals who rely on WiFi to get business done. Come ‘on get real and make the investment in ultimate wireless data flexibility and buy yourself a pc broadband card.
Check out a brief tour of the bloggers tent and the VIP access bloggers are receiving at the DNC:





Thu, Aug 28, 2008
Category: Want it Wednesday