Burn Alter Ego

Has it been a while since anyone tagged hilarious photos of you on your Facebook profile enjoying an exciting night out with beautiful people in some glamorous venue? No? Perhaps it’s just us - however, thanks to a new application from Coca-Cola’s Burn energy drink, users are now able to create an alter ego which can be sent out to embark on such frolicking - the results of which are recorded on your profile page the very next day, compromising piccies and all.Burn Alter Ego was created by Miami-based creative web developers iChameleon, in conjunction with Coca-Cola’s internal digital team in London. It allows users to paste a photo of their face onto an avatar which can then be tweaked and customised with a selection of trendy threads. This creation can then be made to party with your existing Facebook buddies, or be sent out to make new friends at the Burn Alter Ego bar. The next day, photos of their (or rather your) exploits are automatically uploaded along with details of the evening, documented in a special blog. You can decide how often your own personal ‘Mr Hyde’ goes out to tear it up, however, as far as we are aware there is not yet a penalty point system in place for hangovers, so in theory, the more your avatar socialises the better. Indeed - as your profile is boosted on the Burn Alter Ego scene, more souvenirs are provided from each night out, along with new looks for your avatar.There is no doubt that this is one of the most ambitious and technically advanced applications seen on Facebook to date. Just as relevant, is the fact that Coca-Cola has obviously chosen to ignore a big-hit strategy to promote their new product - instead placing their faith in the buzz created as a campaign like this courses through the social networking channels.
However, there are one or two aspects which concern us. A spokesperson for iChameleon describes Burn Alter Ego as giving users ‘the freedom to maximize your social life beyond reality.’ Is it just us, or does this questionably desirable prospect sound a little reminiscent of that preached by Second Life? Also probably one of the most common public gripes about Facebook is when people who you haven’t spoken to in fifteen years ask to be your friend - not to contact you or even post on your wall, but simply to bump up their friend count and seem more popular. With this in mind, do we really need an application which could potentially double this figure with even more tenuously-linked contacts?Check it out and decide for yourself at: http://www.burnalterego.com/

source: contagious