As if our lives aren’t getting impersonal enough, I stumbled upon a new web-based service that completely blew my mind.
Forget about the cost of social acceptance in the real world! Geeks who are struggling making friends online via social-network-services such as Facebook, Mixi, Myspace…etc. will soon be tempted by a new breed of ‘gold-digger’.
Ishosha Inc.’s May 1st launch of TomoToday will provide a shortcut to a substantial social media presence by offering subscriptions to virtual friends called ‘InstaNakama’ (nakama means friend in Japanese).
The Japanese company will offer 3-month, 6-month and 1-year subscription plans. Pricing plans will vary on the amount of friends. Users will be able to choose from a “strategically selected set of virtual friends to nurture the user’s desired online identity”. Subscribers will also be able to adjust their preferences to determine how quickly their popularity will increase to make it seem more natural of course.
I wonder if these friends are for hire to visit my blog.
More about TomoToday at the Japan Times Online.
