So, if you don’t watch How I Met Your Mother on CBS, you are missing some funny TV! In a recent episode, Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) and Ted (Josh Radnor) are discussing a five word phrase that every man will utter in their lifetime, “Dude, let’s buy a bar!” They go on to discuss other details like having no “last call” and naming their bar “Puzzles,” Believe me we are not doing the episode any justice, you should check it out on the CBS website. Your work bandwidth is the most efficient and appropriate, ha.

Anyway, if you had a bar what would you name it? Is there some crazy, futuristic stuff you would want in your bar? FYI… the ice, hookah, and oxygen bar ideas have already been done, blah!

Clearly, the name is vital! If it can’t be yelled in two syllables, scratch that name. If you don’t understand the meaning…scratch… or pronunciation…scratch. And don’t try to be too clever. You wouldn’t name a racehorse “Down the Stretch,” nor would you name a bar “Around the Corner” “Drinking Here” or “Passing the Time.”

What about interactive technology? Remember when you could play Frogger and Pac-Man at your table? Those were the days… Other than playing Photo Hunt or Golden Tee, there is really no attempt by most establishments to engage the patrons.

Even the advertising in restrooms is shameful. At best, you see a digital sign that says “advertise here” or the empty brackets of a dying outdoor media company.

We need to do a quick brainstorm, here! If Blade Runner meets Minority Report meets Cheers, creates an interactive bar/restaurant….and discuss!

Here are a few…

• How about the ability to order your food and drinks from an interactive screen? We download music, shop for books, buy clothes, so why can’t we order-pay for our food and drinks from a digital menu? Lose the worthless wait staff that is ignoring you anyway. The owners could measure customer satisfaction with some type of interactive drink-meal timer and interactive polling.
• Have you ever been to a dueling piano bar? The good places make a lot of cash because the musicians/entertainers drive up the cost per song. That means Barry Manilow could win out over any Billy Joel song for the right price. So, why not make this an interactive experience? Instead of dropping $100 grand on a few new pianos, how about invest the money in an interactive digital jukebox –where from the customers’ seats they could outbid others for the next song on the playlist, and for the right price, stop a song in its’ digital tracks.
• Create a REAL online chat room. Instead of spending your Friday night at home chatting away on the overheated laptop, come out to the bar and interact with total strangers from your table. You, “BigBear” (Table 2) says “heeeey, girl” to “SugarBunny” (Table 9), but gets no response. So, you break the ice by buying your crush a few drink credits for their table. Let them choose whether they cash them in or not.
• Allow patrons to create and edit all their information online. Add pictures, add friends, and restrict access to the creepy, creepers out there. The bar could create a full network that broadcast their specials and promotes their events. With the profile information, it could always stay one step ahead of its customers and market products and events that are actually relevant. Another plus, the bar-club-pub could always control the guest list and the overall mix of people in their place. Have special invite only nights for compatible singles, with similar music taste or personality traits.

It’s only a matter of time before our social networking and real world lives collide!

Dude, let’s buy a bar!