Do you often feel the urge to buy your friend a Pepsi but are miles away? Pepsi is hoping to capitalize on that urge (which may or may not be a real one) by starting something it calls "social vending," or buying drinks for friends digitally.
"Pepsi's new system lets users give their friends a beverage gift by entering the recipient's name, mobile phone number and a personalized text message or video. The gift is delivered with a system code and instructions to redeem it at any similar machine," according to Reuters. The new system is set to debut at a trade show in Chicago.
Of course the flaw for this system is that Pepsi doesn't have access to a social network like Facebook or Twitter, which would make it much more useful and truly social vending. Mashable already is betting on a Facebook/Pepsi partnership. If Pepsi doesn't strike soon, it will be outbid by competitor Coca-Cola which has already dabbled in the social vending arena.
So -- how soon before we can buy pizza and beer on Facebook?
