Burning Man: No deal with Google, just "creative collaboration"

Andie Grace wrote:
Re: Google and Sprint: Alas, I'm afraid your "reliable source" is yanking your chain.-Andie Grace, Communications Manager, Burning Man

Rob Anderson wrote:
Was burner/journalist Chris Taylor yanking everyone's chain when he wrote this in the article posted here?

Plenty of companies do, it seems, and at the front of the line this year is Google. Its engineers are building software for unbranded kiosks at the pavilion where participants can zoom in to a virtual version of Burning Man. Just click on a given technology or art project and Google will take you directly to its website.

Andie Grace wrote:
There is a project being made by burners, working with the "Google Earth" software, called "Burning Man Earth". It is a way to use that software to navigate a view of Black Rock City and interact with it---it has nothing to do with providing wireless access to Burners. And no, it doesn't represent the signing of any kind of "deal". It's a creative collaboration using technology Google happen to have created, but there have been no "deals" signed and no money is changing hands in that endeavor. Furthermore, we have zero interaction with Sprint. The rumor you quote in your first sentence is what I was responding to. It is simply not true.

Rob Anderson wrote:
A "creative collaboration"? Sounds like a deal to me. That no money is changing hands is not particlularly significant, since "branding" is evidently now the name of the game for Burning Man. Burning Man gets a nice toy for its operation, and Google gets its brand associated with the Burning Man---and vice versa. On Sprint: I trust my sources more than I do claims made by a flak for Burning Man, but your denial is noted. We'll see.