Bad drivers beware? CarPong launches driver social networking

Ever been cut off by a bad driver and wished you could have given them a piece of your mind? Well, now you can. Virginia startup CarPong recently launched and is letting users write short messages to other drivers.
The site is simple and like most other social networking sites you must be registered to use it. Users can either send a message to a particular license plate or receive notifications on messages for up to three plates. All of this is done on a user profile page on the website, similar to a Facebook profile.
Here’s how the service works: To send a message, users are required to enter a license plate number and the state in which the vehicle is registered. They are then able to leave a message up to 250 characters. If the owner of that vehicle is registered on the site, they will receive the email instantly. However, if they aren’t, the message will go live on the site, become searchable and eventually be delivered if that driver ever joins. Users are also able to follow their own plates as well as others and be notified when those plates receive messages. For example, a father might be “following” his college daughters license plate to make sure she isn’t driving like a maniac while at school.
Founder Tony Mastrorio notes in a recent blog post that the service isn’t just for denouncing bad driver habits, but has other social possibilities too. For example, you can now drive by a good looking women and send her a message or let someone know their brake light it out. There are several more useful services for the site as well. My favorite is that drivers could learn when their vehicles have been towed, improving an archaic process that usually leaves a driver not knowing when their car was moved or where it now resides. For businesses, it could allow business owners to track their fleet of vehicles — bringing a new meaning to those stickers on mack trucks that say “How’s My Driving – Dial …..”
Currently, the company is generating revenue through online advertising. However, as users are only allowed to follow three plates, a future revenue model will involve charging a small fee for users wishing to follow more than three plates.