You can now buy your friend a Starbucks coffee on Twitter

Mike Krumboltz
File photo of a Starbucks sign (AP)

Buying a Starbucks coffee for your friend is a nice thing to do but devoid of any interactions with social networks! This is 2013. We can't have that, can we?

Twitter to the rescue. Now you can buy your amigo a medium decaf double latte with extra foam (in a large cup) through the microblogging site. Yay?

The Seattle-based coffee behemoth recently launched a program called "Tweet-a-coffee." Here's how it works: Interested users link their Twitter and Starbucks accounts and set up a payment method. Then, it's as (supposedly) simple as tweeting "@tweetacoffee" with the recipient's Twitter handle. The lucky person gets a $5 Starbucks gift card, which can be redeemed on a smartphone.

Starbucks bills it as a way to be nice to people you know (or just follow on Twitter), which — not coincidentally — could lead to a healthy bit of scratch should the trend take off. It's worth noting the concept has been around for a while. Earlier this year, American Express announced a program that allowed users to buy AmEx gift cards through Twitter.

But it's more than just gift cards. Way more. A big deal still in the works and set to launch next month will let users buy movie tickets or digital downloads of television programs on the social network, Deadline reported.

From Deadline:

Sometime in November people who discuss TV shows or movies on Twitter will see a “See It” button. If they click on it, it will give them options to watch the show or, if it’s a current movie, buy a ticket via Comcast-owned Fandango.

Bottom line: Twitter is aiming to make impulse purchases a lot easier. Whether consumers want to go along for the ride remains to be seen.