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.