Re-inventing the Wheel

I don't normally post advertising emails but this one is a gem:
I wanted to get in touch to introduce a new piece of technology to you which has the potential to significantly increase footfall to pubs up and down the country. While this is not a sales pitch, I am just seeking to promote the technology to a wider audience.
Go On you have me interested:


Lifesynk is a “real-world social media enabler”, essentially a tool to help pubs turn the tide of dwindling support by connecting online social activity and actual social activity, with the ultimate aim of restoring them to their traditional place at the heart of our local communities. By installing a Lifesynk terminal, a pub enables customers to swipe their phones or an RFID card (similar to an Oyster card) and send a message to their Facebook friends or Twitter followers, telling them where they are and what they’re doing. Pubs can configure these messages themselves, for example “I am at the Red Lion in Ipswich, claiming a free drink/earning a loyalty point, etc”. You can also use Lifesynk to keep customers updated on news and events – a single swipe will promote the pub to each customer’s network of social media contacts.
Wow, millions of people can and already do this with Foursquare and Untappd via a smartphone so why would anyone wish to install an RFID reader in a pub? Chaverspoons even offer a reduction on your food bill if you become 'Mayor' of one of their pubs on Foursquare. RFID technology has been used on Oyster Cards since 2003, technology has moved on since then and Transport for London are now usung contactless technology on their buses.
Which leaves the question, just why would any pub want to invest in a decade old technology when cloud-based applications are the way forward?

Lifesync and Alie at CK Publicity, you know where the complaints department is located.