NY bar aims to revolutionize flirting with technology

Reshma Kapadia

NEW YORK: Love is just a flick of the wrist away in Manhattan. A new bar near
the East Village mixes reality television, digital media, joysticks, instant
messaging and a dose of voyeurism to create a setting that could revolutionize
flirting in New York.

The result is Remote Lounge -- a bar with more than 100 screens, featuring
the goings-on of patrons on about 70 closed-circuit channels. Several
"cocktail" consoles that double as tables allow party-goers to control
any of the bar's 60 cameras with joysticks to scope out a potential date or
observe the couple in the corner.

The creators of Remote Lounge have turned an electrical supply store into a
digital playhouse for local hipsters. The bar's entrance is marked with a series
of TV screens and, inside, patrons are bombarded with images from the myriad
screens, projecting a variety of digital media installations and images of
bar-goers. With mini-cameras in every corner, it's a sure thing that someone is
watching your every move -- a thought that is disconcerting to some, but
exciting and intriguing to others.

"It's a legalized version of stalking," said one NYU graduate
student at the bar on its opening night. "It is funny that (the camera
shots) are in black and white or grainy color. It makes people look a lot better
than they do in person, masking their flaws and making them look more
attractive."

With a joystick, patrons can control cameras to keep an eye on the door, the
dance floor, or the table behind them. If someone catches their eye, they can
send a quick hello via text messages.

Connection or rejection

The potential object of their affections can either rebuff the overture or
accept it and, if their curiosity is piqued, find out who sent them the message.
From there it's instant connection, or rejection.

If the message is accepted, a conversation can ensue via a phone on the
console or taking the old-fashioned approach and walking up to the prospective
suitor. "One of the things about the technology is that it's an
icebreaker," said Kevin Centanni, one of the bar's partners.

"We see people going up to people who they wouldn't normally go up to in
a bar and talking to them. They can use the consoles for flirting and meeting
other people or play games with people and they know they are in the bar and can
go find them," Centanni said.

The bar, which the partners had been working on for about a year and half, is
a showcase for technology created by Controlled Entropy Ventures, a developer of
entertainment applications for Web-based multimedia and video conferencing
technologies.

Those who don't want to leave the comforts of their couches, can check out
action via the bar's Web site (http://www.remotelounge.com) and decide whether
it's hot enough to get them out to the sleek, futuristic lounge. Bar patrons may
want to keep in mind that their every move may be documented and could end up as
a snapshot on the lounge's Web site for all to see.

The partners have been talking about opening similar lounges in other cities
-- in the United States and abroad -- that can possibly even interact with each
other. Controlled Entropy Partners is self-funded, said partner and Rare Medium
founder Bob Stratton, adding that he was looking for a project to work on after
coming out of the dot-com boom and bust.

The lounge also plans to host different digital media exhibitions.