Free wi-fi, Free music, Free energy?

For reals? It's been said that nothing is really free in this capitalistic society where money is all, up until college, I was to small to play, so I grabbed the mic device, never thought about it twice, if you think this is a game, n*gga, you'd better think twice!

I remember the future. Wise words from the golden era of hip hop. Nothing was free back then. You had to work hard for money, love and respect. And I believe the same still applies today, though most corporations are the ones working hard to make us think we are getting something for free, with a little love and respect when in reality they are getting something with much more value from us.

The feelings, opinions and actions of a consumer will influence another consumer. Every time we think we are getting something for free, the corporation is actually getting low cost advertising or valuable market information. How many times have you received something for free, say a chocolate bar, and told 10 different people about it? We feel so happy to have received this free gift, we are already thinking positively about this chocolate bar company and then we want to share it with all of our friends. Think about that example applying to mp3s, clothing, software, auto dealers, cellular providers, restaurants, sporting events, the list goes on.

It is in our nature to want to share good news, so it's not our fault, that's just how it works - and the corporations have found a way to use it to their advantage. Word-of-mouth is still perceived as the most authentic form of advertising, though the digital and online sharing is expanding it's form, language and distribution coverage.

Worldwide word-of-mouth is today's status quo as the lines blur between mobile phone and personal computer, compounded by the growth of wi-fi and 3g, 4g and 5g networks. It's no wonder that we are now branding ourselves, making our image known to as many people as possible, and in essence, we are all well on our way to becoming our own corporation and to be stuck working for the man.