I’m going to start this post by saying, HOW DID I MISS THIS?? Evidently, last June, a company called Redpepper, which calls itself “An ad agency by day. Invention lab by night” introduced Facedeals. After researching this extensively, I found that many major news sites have reported on this technology including MSNBC and Wired. Before I get into the meat of what Facedeals is, let me just reassure you: THIS IS REAL. Okay, it’s not entirely real yet. The product is still in its development phase, but according to The Daily Mail, Redpepper has begun to test the technology at various locations around Memphis, Tennessee.
This technology is basically combining the check-in feature of Facebook with facial recognition technology to entice more Facebook users to check-in at various location and to get more businesses to offer deals. Let’s go through the steps. First, companies may choose to have special facial recognition cameras installed outside their businesses. Then, you as a Facebook user will sign up to use the Facedeals application. Following your signup, the app will present you with various tagged photos of you in order to confirm the way that you look. Easy enough. When you approach and/or enter an establishment that has Facedeals set up, the camera recognizes your face. It then confirms who you are and sends a mobile deal directly to your Smartphone tailored for you based upon your ‘likes’ to utilize. If that isn’t a new way to entice people to come to a business, I don’t know what is. According to Redpepper, this technology will allow customers to frequent their favorite spots and count on being rewarded.
This could be a valuable advertising campaign for businesses. With the economy the way that it is, many consumers seek out deals or coupons before they choose which company to spend their money at. However, it could also backfire. Some people may view the cameras all over their towns as invasions of privacy.
As I mentioned before, this technology is still semi in the works. However, it is being tested in Nashville and I’m interested to see the results. Personally, I would not hesitate to sign up for this technology. It might be a bit of an invasion of privacy, but if it’s proven to be safe and effective, I’d take part. As a busy college student, I’m much too lazy to seek out deals or remember to check-in when I’m out and about. The thought of having a deal presented to me just for walking in the door of my favorite bar is something that I would not be able to pass up.
This does call to mind, however, the slight debacle Facebook had with the introduction of it’s facereg technology. There was a brief period of time when, after you uploaded an album of photos, Facebook would automatically suggest which friends you should tag in them. Congress scrutinized this technology for possible privacy infringement, which eventually resulted in Facebook getting rid of it. Is this Facedeal technology even legal? Is it feasible? Only time will tell.
