Location-based social networks are an acquired taste, since not everyone necessarily feels like sharing their whereabouts with friends. But the location-based model just got a bit tastier with
the advent of Slingr, a mobile app that lets friends buy each other food and drinks in distant locales.
After signing up for Slingr, you
just check in at a participating venue, automatically posting a link to your personal feed on Facebook, Twitter, or a number of other compatible social networks. Friends who see the link can click
on it to view a menu of items available at that venue, which they can purchase and send to your table. You can specify which items you’re interested in (“I’m at venue X and in the
mood for a martini”).
The idea certainly is nifty, although it assumes a certain generosity which may or may not manifest itself in the ways promised on the Slingr.net site:
“Imagine dinner on your birthday paid for by Mom and Dad, dessert sent from your boss, and a steady flow of drinks from your best friends, all free to you thanks to Slingr.” (Personal
note to my boss: you are welcome to send me a supply of Nutter Butters in the mail, should the fancy strike you). It also remains to be seen if people will continue feeling generous after the
novelty wears off.
On the other hand, in situations where it does work, Slingr is a potential goldmine for restaurants with well-connected patrons whose friends feel like splashing out from
afar (presumably a good barkeep won’t serve you all 20 drinks at the same time). There are also lots of obvious integrations for Slingr with other platforms: I’m thinking it might fit
nicely with mobile city guides and online daily deal services, for starters.