It was just a week ago that car insurance provider
Admiral was all over the headlines for attempting to use social media posts to lower car insurance and then being blocked by Facebook (see
article). Now another company is attempting to do something similar.
Step forward Japanese motoring giant Nissan, which has revealed that it will launch a car sharing service in Paris later this year.
The idea behind the service is that drivers will be paired up based on travel patterns and yes, you guessed it, social media interactions.
The service, which will revolve around a fleet of Nissan Micra vehicles being run in the French capital, will see subscribers split costs associated with the car based on how much they have used it – including parking charges and fuel.
Company CEO and chairman Carlos Ghosn revealed the plans at a web summit in Lisbon and claimed that the manufacturer can match car sharers based on their digital lives including their geographic location and social media posts. It will make use of an algorithm that will match sharers with each driver then given a monthly invoice based on their use of the car. So, for example, someone working a typical 9-5 shift may be paired with someone from the same area who works at night. Or another person may use the car while the first person is at work, as long as they live near that workplace.
While the service sounds like it may be popular it is likely to raise similar privacy issues and raise eyebrows with regards to the use of customer information. It is not yet clear how Nissan plans to tap into social media accounts – and given Admiral’s experience, this is a situation that will need to be addressed well ahead of launch.
Related Stories:
Facebook blocks Admiral’s newly announced app plans
Admiral to set insurance prices based on clients’ Facebook data
