Twitter-enabled box alerts bakery customers to fresh bread

Everyone knows that baked goods tend to be best when fresh from the oven; the challenge for bakery customers is predicting when that might be. New technology from London agency Poke now removes the guesswork, however, by enabling bakeries to alert their customers via Twitter any time a new batch is done.

Much the way fans of LA's Kogi Korean BBQ can follow the company on Twitter to find out where its taco truck is at any given moment, so BakerTweet allows bakers to keep their customers informed. But because bakery kitchens don't tend to be hospitable to electronic devices—replete as they are with flour, eggs and other messy stuff—BakerTweet uses a specially designed box that can withstand the messiest kitchen conditions. Bakers begin by creating an account online with BakerTweet using their regular computer, inputting all the baked items they want to Twitter about along with the body of the Tweet that will be sent out for each. Back in the kitchens, the wall-mountable BakerTweet box captures that information, allowing bakers to simply turn a dial to select which item they want to Tweet about at that moment ("Fresh Buns," for example) and then push a button to send the full Tweet wirelessly to Twitter. Customers following the bakery then get updated immediately when it's time to go get those buns. A video on Vimeo demonstrates BakerTweet in action.

Poke staff originally developed BakerTweet for the Albion Cafe—its neighbour in Shoreditch, London, and currently the site of the only prototype device—for the very practical purpose of finding out the best time to go get stuff there. (To find out what's available, they simply follow @albionsoven.) However, as the company sagely notes itself, the technology is eminently applicable to just about any business that needs to communicate quickly and easily in real time about offers, pricing, stocks or other information. There's no word yet on pricing or availability; nevertheless, BakerTweet is not only a no-brainer to be implemented by bakers the world over as soon as possible, it's also yet another tasty illustration of the increasingly blurred lines between the online and offline worlds, as our sister site describes in its OFF=ON briefing. One to implement, adapt or partner with in the application of your choice!

Website: www.bakertweet.com
Contact: iwantone@bakertweet.com

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