Few years back I met a friend whom I haven’t keep in touch with for a long time at a book stand. We got off talking and he suggested we keep in contact through Facebook. After few minutes, I was explaining about privacy settings (if I am not mistaken) since he was pretty new to Facebook. We were so engrossed in the conversation I didn’t realize what was going on until a cop showed up. There were around a dozen people listening to our conversation and the cop though something was up. When I looked up I saw people grinning and someone shouted “Geeks!!” and the owner of the bookstand said, “You know, you could have done that over a cup of coffee.” I looked at my friend, we let out a laugh. I don’t know how our laugh sounded, because by then I was really starting to feel embarrassed. But, the cup of coffee we went for after that was nice.
I am sure most of you might have had some awkward or embarrassing moments because of Facebook. But, no matter what you story, I guess Deeplocal’s “LikeBelt” takes social awkwardness to a whole new level.
Despite being hilariously funny, the “LikeBelt” is a clever hardware-hacking project that uses near-field communication technology (NFC) to register Facebook likes. The NFC-enabled belt is linked to a smartphone turning the user into a physical representation of social activities.
It’s going to take some work though, because RFID (radio frequency identification) chips need to be manually implanted into points of interest. But, using it is a breeze. Just equip yourself with the belt, and approach a person or thing that deserves liking, give it a few pelvic thrust to register your “Like.”
You can also check-in, add a friend, or post to someone’s profile using the belt.
You can build yourself one if you like. The how-to instruction is available at likebelt.com. But, please, please watch the video before you decide to go start on one.
“There used to be simple ways of saying you like thing, like thumbs up, high fives, or humping,” Nathan Martin, CEO of Deeplocal, told Wired.
Elvis or MJ would have been the perfect product ambassadors for LikeBelt if they were still around (No offence intended).
Jokes apart, embedding the NFC-tech into a wristband or jerseys of NBA players for registering fives would be cool.
Until then, hump your way to social awkwardness with the belt.
