REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch
Two years ago, researchers at the University of Cambridge developed an algorithm that determines the personality profile a Facebook user based on the posts he or she likes.
Designers then used that algorithm to develop the Social Shot.
"We asked ourselves: how can we translate digital data into the physical world?" Simon Frambach, one of the product team designers, told Business Insider.
By using the Big Five personality traits - neuroticism, extroversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness - the team discovered how to do a psychological analysis based on Facebook data. Now comes the fun part.
The team assigned a different alcohol or liquid to each personality trait. Neuroticism is red grenadine, extroversion is yellow lemon juice, openness is blue Curaçao, agreeableness is green basil liqueur, and conscientiousness is clear vodka.
"We wanted to create a cool way for people to visualize their personality… and then drink it!" said Frambach.
In choosing the liquids, the team had to consider the varying density in order to keep the colors separate. That's why they are not all alcoholic.
"We had to cover the broad spectrum of the density of the liquids because the grenadine syrup is very heavy, so it sinks to the bottom. The vodka is the lightest, so it sticks to the top," Frambach said. "And of course, it had to be tasty in most combinations, so we added some sweet stuff."
In order to see what kind of personality shot you have, users login to a terminal that's like an app within Facebook.
After logging in, the Social Bot (the robot bartender) uses the algorithm to process data it gathers from your Facebook page to create your shot.The valves open and the ingredients begin to flow until they stack up inside the test tube to form a two-cylinder shot.
"When my friends and I tried it for the first time, we all had similar shot combinations," said Frambach. "Probably because we liked similar posts on Facebook and we shared an interest in certain things."The Social Shot is still in its beta phase, and there isn't an app for it to be used on your mobile device.
That means it's only available in Germany (for now).