In an age where people have chosen to forfeit their privacy in exchange for the ability to keep active in the digital societies of Facebook and Twitter (and LinkedIn and Google+ and, for a small remnant, Myspace), it has grown increasingly difficult for the average person to remain discreet and under-the-radar. If you’re some sort of celebrity or public figure — musician, politician, actor, actress, athlete — good luck; the minute semblance of privacy you may have once enjoyed no longer exists. Some of you may have these VIPs as your clients and are well aware of the challenges of protecting their privacy while chauffeuring them around. Well, a solution may finally have arrived.
Every single thing we publish on the Internet, from Facebook status updates, “check-ins,” and wall posts to tweets and photos, will forever exist in some corner of the World Wide Web and there’s nothing any of us can do about it. And that’s just the stuff
we voluntarily choose to broadcast to the universe. We can choose to be more careful about what we share about ourselves, but we will still remain at risk of having personal information exposed by pillaging digital pirates, i.e. the News of the World hacking scandal, or by the “accidental” publishing of a compromising or not-so-flattering photo that someone took of you at a party or club.
If that last part hasn’t yet happened to you, be grateful, because as this reporter personally knows, it’s no fun when someone tells you, “Hey, cool photo of you from the club the other night!” to which you respond, “Um, what photo, what club, and where did you say you saw this?” Then they tell you, and it surprises you although it shouldn’t: “Dude, it’s all over Facebook. So-and-so posted it.” True story.
Which is why my jaw dropped and my wallet opened when I came across an Argentinian beer company’s new ad featuring something called the “Photoblocker,” a beer cooler bucket that detects when a photo is about to be taken and emits a flash to interfere with the photo and protect the identities of the intended targets. I think this is one of the best commercials of the year, ranking among Audi’s awesome
“Escape The Confines Of Old Luxury” Super Bowl ad. Here is the video:
According to Ad Week, the Photoblocker buckets have supposedly been “tested, actually work, and have been distributed to bars across [Argentina].” It seems as though the technology works like this: a sensor at the front of the Photoblocker detects the flash of a camera and sets off a counter-flash before the lens can capture a shot. While this makes it ineffective during the day time, it’s certainly perfect for a dimly lit place, such as a club…or…a limousine and party bus!
I think the Photoblocker could be an extremely useful item in an operator’s toolkit and a great amenity to promote one’s commitment to protecting the privacy of their clients. It can work especially well during bachelor and bachelorette parties and for VIPs who want to avoid the ravenous eyes of the paparazzi. Plus it’s a really cool novelty item that keeps drinks cool.
I’m working on getting the details and availability of the Photoblocker, and as soon as I do, I will let you all know via the vehicles that made this thing possible in the first place — Facebook and Twitter, so make sure to like our page at
www.facebook.com/lctmagazine and follow us on Twitter
@LCTMag today! —
Michael Campos, LCT assistant editor
Print | posted on Wednesday, December 07, 2011 3:05 PM