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	<title>Betabeat &#187; Wifi Names Are the New Rude Post-Its and Political Bumper Stickers</title>
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		<title>Betabeat &#187; Wifi Names Are the New Rude Post-Its and Political Bumper Stickers</title>
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		<title>Wifi Names Are the New Rude Post-Its and Political Bumper Stickers</title>

		<comments>http://betabeat.com/2012/10/wifi-names-are-the-new-rude-post-its-and-political-bumper-stickers/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 18 Oct 2012 10:21:41 -0400</pubDate>
					<link>http://betabeat.com/2012/10/wifi-names-are-the-new-rude-post-its-and-political-bumper-stickers/</link>
			<dc:creator>Steve Huff</dc:creator>
				
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://betabeat.com/?p=66921</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p><div id="attachment_66928" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 221px"><a href="http://nyobetabeat.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/fucksharptooth.png"><img class="size-medium wp-image-66928 " title="fucksharptooth" alt="" src="http://nyobetabeat.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/fucksharptooth.png?w=211" height="300" width="211" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">screengrab</p></div></p>
<p>The august and proper BBC News has taken a look at a new and lurking scourge found in thickly settled neighborhoods throughout the world: passive-aggressive wifi names.</p>
<p>Many wifi users stick with something simple, like "Home" or the name of their router ("NETGEAR01"), but wifi networks in some neighborhoods reveal a world of what the BBC aptly terms "bite-sized self-expression."</p>
<p>The BBC reports that these expressions may be used to <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19760006" target="_blank">embarrass or complain about the neighbors</a>:<!--more--></p>
<blockquote><p>"'We can hear you having sex' apparently appears with a degree of regularity across Britain and Ireland, according to OpenSignalMaps."</p></blockquote>
<p>However, wifi names are also being used to express political affiliation.</p>
<p>OpenSignalMaps has a large database of wifi names and has also found that many wifi users choose names that act as digital bumper stickers broadcasting political opinions, particularly opinions about President Barack Obama. Some <a href="http://opensignal.com/reports/politics-of-wifi-names.php" target="_blank">examples include</a>: "BARAKobama," "DEFEND_AMERICA-FIGHT_OBAMA," "Al-Qaeda HQ. Obamas an Idiot."</p>
<p>OpenSignalMaps surveyed these sentiments and discovered that in the United States, 401 Obama-related wifi names revealed positive feelings about the president and 355 appeared to show a negative opinion.</p>
<p>Based on wifi-name selection abroad, the president is apparently very popular overseas, with 100 percent wifi popularity in countries like India and Brazil.</p>
<p>Obama's wifi popularity abroad won't be much help come November 6th, but at least no one has found a wifi signal near the White House that says something like "We can hear the Obamas having sex."</p>
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		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><div id="attachment_66928" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 221px"><a href="http://nyobetabeat.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/fucksharptooth.png"><img class="size-medium wp-image-66928 " title="fucksharptooth" alt="" src="http://nyobetabeat.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/fucksharptooth.png?w=211" height="300" width="211" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">screengrab</p></div></p>
<p>The august and proper BBC News has taken a look at a new and lurking scourge found in thickly settled neighborhoods throughout the world: passive-aggressive wifi names.</p>
<p>Many wifi users stick with something simple, like "Home" or the name of their router ("NETGEAR01"), but wifi networks in some neighborhoods reveal a world of what the BBC aptly terms "bite-sized self-expression."</p>
<p>The BBC reports that these expressions may be used to <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19760006" target="_blank">embarrass or complain about the neighbors</a>:<!--more--></p>
<blockquote><p>"'We can hear you having sex' apparently appears with a degree of regularity across Britain and Ireland, according to OpenSignalMaps."</p></blockquote>
<p>However, wifi names are also being used to express political affiliation.</p>
<p>OpenSignalMaps has a large database of wifi names and has also found that many wifi users choose names that act as digital bumper stickers broadcasting political opinions, particularly opinions about President Barack Obama. Some <a href="http://opensignal.com/reports/politics-of-wifi-names.php" target="_blank">examples include</a>: "BARAKobama," "DEFEND_AMERICA-FIGHT_OBAMA," "Al-Qaeda HQ. Obamas an Idiot."</p>
<p>OpenSignalMaps surveyed these sentiments and discovered that in the United States, 401 Obama-related wifi names revealed positive feelings about the president and 355 appeared to show a negative opinion.</p>
<p>Based on wifi-name selection abroad, the president is apparently very popular overseas, with 100 percent wifi popularity in countries like India and Brazil.</p>
<p>Obama's wifi popularity abroad won't be much help come November 6th, but at least no one has found a wifi signal near the White House that says something like "We can hear the Obamas having sex."</p>
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