Adam Brotman, Starbucks VP Digital Ventures

We were fortunate to have Adam Brotman, Starbucks VP Digital Ventures, speak at Think Mobile West last week. He talked about the soon-to-be-available (sometime this Fall) Starbucks Digital Network (SDN) which was developed in partnership with Yahoo!. Adam talked about the concept of a “third place” in addition to your home and office. The “third place” is, of course, Starbucks and content delivered through SDN via their now free WiFi hotspots.

As I noted last month, the SDN will provide free access to normally premium content like the Wall Street Journal and Zagat. SDN will also offer free selected iTunes downloads and documentary films (probably shorts). They also recognize that parents with childnre pass through their stores and have partnered with Nickelodeon to provide unrestricted free access to their programming while in a Starbucks stores.

Starbucks & Yahoo! Teaming Up This Fall: WiFi Hotspot – Starbucks Digital Network

A preview of SDN’s free selected iTunes tunes was foreshadowed this past spring.

Starbucks Frappuccino iTunes Deal: 10 Free Songs

The SDN will also provide information about jobs as well. Local charitable activities will be provided through a partnership with DonorsChoose.org

Finally, SDN is optimized for tablet users (ahem, iPad). It is built using HTML5 and is touch friendly.