In the world of Facebook, where a popular activity is sending your friends virtual gifts, buying a digital beer doesn’t quite cut it.
That’s why Steve Johnson, a San Francisco entrepreneur, created a new application for Facebook and mobile phones called Bartab that allows users to send a real drink to a friend via their mobile phone, bridging the divide between social networks and the real world.
Bartab works by allowing a user to buy a $1 drink voucher good at 60 bars in San Francisco. It will be added soon to New York and L.A. The recipient receives a drink ticket via a text message or iPhone app. They just show the ticket to a bartender and then pay a $1 pouring fee and get the drink.
“Facebook has been charging one buck for virtual drinks but we’re selling real drinks for a buck,” said Johnson of Web developer Webtab, which came up with the app.
Associated Press
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