'Like' and Be Rewarded [Big Brother]

Currently, somewhere in Singapore, someone is shopping, using a rewards card and receiving discounts on merchandise simply for liking that business on Facebook. Welcome to the future.

Now, you may be curious as to how such activity is possible. One word: Taggo. Taggo, combined from the two words tap and go, is a service designed by Aneace Haddad. The goal of the service is to bring fan recognition to the actual point of sale; merging online with the real world. It also moves consumers away from coupons and having a loyalty card for every store they visit--which, if you're an avid shopper, can be a bit excessive. How do you use it? Simply by using a plastic contactless card with an unique identity number. And what is that exactly? Well, chances are you have one of these in your wallet already if you are a commuter or use a pre-paid phone card. If you are neither, these are not at all hard to come across. Once you have this card with the unique number, you register it online with the Taggo service. From there you Like shops and business accordingly, tap and go.

The soft launch of Taggo is taking place in Singapore because Haddad says it is a growing market for Facebook as well as tap and go. There are nearly 9 million tap and go cards in use in Singapore and business are putting up Facebook pages before they are even securing web domains.

While there haven't been any reports released yet to detail the success (or lack thereof) of Taggo in Singapore, it does seem like one really good idea for business in the U.S. Esepecially those business eagerly seeking new ways to cut down costs.

Read more on this at BBC.