Quick Fix — a vending machine for likes and followers
Sometimes we come across a project that just scores a perfect 10 on all fronts. This is one of them: an art installation using Raspberry Pi that has something interesting to say, does it elegantly, and is implemented beautifully (nothing presses our buttons like a make that’s got a professionally glossy finish like this).
Quick Fix is a vending machine (and art installation) that sells social media likes and followers. Drop in a coin, enter your social media account name, and an army of fake accounts will like or follow you. I’ll leave the social commentary to you. Here’s a video from the maker, Dries Depoorter:
There’s a Raspberry Pi 3B+ in there, along with an Arduino, powering a coin acceptor and some I2C LCD screens. Then there’s a stainless steel heavy-duty keyboard, which we’re lusting after (a spot of Googling unearthed this, which appears to be the same thing, if you’re in the market for a panel-mounted beast of a keyboard).
This piece was commissioned by Pixelache, a cultural association from Helsinki, whose work looks absolutely fascinating if you’ve got a few minutes to browse. Thanks to them and to Dries Depoorter — I have a feeling this won’t be the last of his projects we’re going to feature here.
11 comments
Kandar Yan
How can you possibly say this is a “perfect 10”?
It may be beautifully made, but its purpose is pure evil – fake likes and followers fuel the stupidity in people who are not aware of how social networking sites really work. I am very disappointed.
Liz Upton
WOOOOOOSH.
Ed
Not really. “It’s an art installation” sure, but I still agree with Kandar. It is beyond ironic and looped back into evil reality when I can easily see the device being used seriously by most people.
fnord
That in itself is pretty potent social commentary..
Tzarls
But this device brings nothing new to the table in terms of the practise of getting likes by any means available. On the contrary, it points to something that really happens. I don’t think it was made for promoting using fake account to get likes. Instead it raises the question “Likes? Really? What are they for? What do they really mean when you can have them a dozen for a dime?”. It’s like a Black Mirror episode made art installation. And this is the most powerful kind of art, the one that challenges us, the one that makes us question current state of society. And it’s great (IMHO) that the Raspberry Pi helped it become a reality.
KRbzzr
Boy howdy… I can’t quite compute my feelings having just now seen this. A mental gag, then “Hmmmmm…”, and now a renewed disgust- not of social media, but people. Why wouldn’t people latch onto and abuse nonstop a means by which they can self-promote? Whoa… I’m so SMART! VERY impressive!
Eisen Carbone
This is ironically weird. It’s like technology at its best – supposedly – I’m especially impressed at the implementation of using the newly compact, inexpensive, versatile, “genius kid” on the technology block called the infamous raspberry pi. Unfortunately, this application takes the unobtrusive gizmo into the the dark realm internet application which can only inspire gurus bearing nefarious intentions.
Sorry, this one totally backfires in all its intents and purposes
This is a travesty, worst than spam, malware, and it’s definitely a potential Trojan, Worm, and at worst a virus.
To fix this threat, it needs to reengineered to fight and trap the aforementioned threats. In other words, instead of adding to the internet disease pool, why not retain its intelligence and have it serve as a preventative or vaccinative quarantine clinical application.
Redirect it so that it can serve the common good. The internet has its more than fair share of evil applications.
Do this last bit and I’m sure it will earn the appreciation and applause worthy of a perfect “10”
KSN
Selling fraudulent “likes”. This just further devalues “social” media. Stupid use of technology and you shouldn’t have promoted it. Presumably the people who created this weren’t stupid, just dishonest. What a shame.
jared
wrong ksn,
the people who created it werent dishonest at all, at best they were capitalizing on peoples dishonesty. Is it dishonest to provide a service that delivers fake likes? Id say no, you delivered exactly what you said you would, there’s no dishonesty on the part of the seller. The dishonesty lies on the end buyer displaying their new likes without a disclaimer in small print that states not all likes are real, much like any of the millions of other/similar small print disclaimers out there in the world covering their owners asses from scandal, lawsuit and social outcry. If you can make fake id’s and sell them “For Entertainment purposes only” how is this any different. What someone does with those likes is what makes a potential dishonest act. No different than the legal sale of a water pipe or oil burner till you get it home and load the bong or meth pipe. And while I tend to agree with you that its probably not the best use of skills, talents and abilities; profit’s not a dirty word either. You don’t ban the production of guns because someone was shot with one. Spend more time educating the masses on how little the influence likes should make in a decision making process and how easy it is manipulated and it will no longer be a sought after product to place these likes on a page. When no customers exist with a demand for purchasing fake likes, there will be no issues with fake like bot purveyors popping up….meanwhile and until then, where can I pick one up?? Id like to “Like” my comment some more so it will appear more people agree with me :) until then peace out girlscout
Taserface
Stupid idea. Buying fake likes so that you seem more popular and so you can feel better about yourself? Come on…
Tillorly
It’s art, very clever art. Actually it shows what’s wrong with social media in a very understandable, drastic way.
It should make the observer thinking about celebs on the interwebs, are the “real” or are they maybe just made by their management.
As contemporary art should always seen in a context…
Some days ago a video and an article about some guy who hacked the German charts causes quite some media coverage in the German speaking part of the world.
He explained in an interview, that he has some 100’000 accounts on platforms like YouTube or Spotify, which listen to shitty German hip hop, since streams count for the German charts. He also said that it was mostly the management of artists, who paid for pushing them.
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