Pepsi's New Vending Machine

Pepsi has introduced a vending machine that exchanges cans of soda for customers' Facebook likes.

First unveiled at a recent Beyoncé concert in Belgium, the Pepsi Like Machine, with its free samples and giant touchscreen, was instantly popular.

Pepsi's new vending machine offers customers the ability to log in to their Facebook accounts, "like" the Pepsi Facebook page, choose a soda flavor and get a can. Smartphone users can stand by the machine and "like" the Facebook page through their phones.

Pepsi has figured out a genius way to turn free samples into a two-way exchange. The Pepsi Like Machine allows the company to collect personal data about its customers. As CNet News reports, "The free samples no longer just disappear into the night, they're connected with personal information. It's an advertiser's dream."

This isn't the first social media-geared vending machine from a soda company; in fact, as Mashable notes, "the cola giants have . . . experimented with adding social media layers to their machines for the past several years."

Earlier this year, Coca-Cola introduced high-tech vending machines in India and Pakistan that allowed citizens of the two countries to interact with each other through a live video exchange. Diet Coke also recently revealed Slender Vender, billed as the "world's thinnest vending machine," in France.

Image courtesy of All Facebook.