Is This A Joke? Facemood :) Claims It Can Determine What A Friend's Facebook Status Update Really Means
March 30, 2011
Facebook’s status updates are one of the social networking site’s most popular features. Now the Facemood :) app claims it can analyze those little posts and determine what they really say about your friends. Is this believable or even possible?
Created by Frimby Limited, Facemood :) claims its uses a specialized algorithm to determine what type of mood your friend is in.
This algorithm includes various components like keyword usage, sentence structure, and punctuation. Friends’ moods are revealed using simple and graphical icons and terms.
The app's algorithm can be further enhanced with some user-defined customization. For example, if your friend is happy when she watches football on TV you can associate the word ‘football’ with an emotion of your choice, in this case, ‘excited.’ Then the next time your friend uses the word 'football' in her status update, the app will take that into account to determine her mood.
Graphically speaking, the Facemood :) app is attractive and simple to use. However, we’re still not sold on its premise or long-term future.
First, it’s difficult to decide whether the app’s conclusions should be considered factual, or are we supposed to laugh them off?
For example, a high school friend whom you haven’t seen in 20 years has a Facemood :) status of ‘Very Sad.’ Should you call their spouse out of concern, or contact the guy via email and make fun of the entire process? Who knows?
Plus, once the app’s novelty wears off, will people really use it each day of their lives?
Nonetheless, Facemood :) is available for $.99 in the App Store.
