New services like rmbrME offer an electronic remedy to the problem of paper-based business cards. Only for many business people, business cards aren’t a problem that needs solving. Through text messages and web applications, rmbrME creates an electronic business card called a bzCard. Instead of carrying around a paper card, you email it to a contact.
Technology is supposed to make life easier, but sometimes the old-fashioned way of doing things reigns king.
New services like rmbrME offer an electronic remedy to the problem of paper-based business cards. Only for many business people, business cards aren’t a problem that needs solving.
Through text messages and web applications, rmbrME creates an electronic business card called a bzCard. Instead of carrying around a paper card, you email it to a contact.
Sign-up for the service was easy. I timed it. One minute, 14 seconds.
You enter your basic information; name, phone number, e-mail address. You go through two webpages, wait for a text message, and then you’re ready to send your electronic business card to anyone with a cell phone or e-mail.
I immediately started sending out my bzCard to some friends. Their initial response was hesitation, as they didn’t like the idea of having to login to a website to receive my information and then enter their own information to send a bzCard back. However, after a little coaxing, a few signed up and I received their cards and their information.
For the people that sign up, the service is practically sound. However, most people will probably be unwilling to spend the time or effort on signing up, especially at networking events where standard business cards are simply easier to exchange.
Improvements have to be made in order for services like rmbrME to replace the paper business card. The entire process needs to be streamlined. Contact information should be transferred immediately through cell phones, not later on through a web service or through e-mails.
I like the idea of rmbrME. But ultimately, it just isn’t inviting enough to take over the standard business card.
And sometimes technology just tries to make something nifty. Take FriendBook from developer Tapulous. This application allows iPhone owners to perform electronic handshakes by holding their devices next to each other and shaking them. This synchronized phoneshake (which I’m sure looks hilarious) transfers contact information between the two iPhones, offering the simplicity of rmbrME in a more streamlined package.
However, on the day of its launch, users reported that the application was sending contact information to complete strangers; as in, people who they weren’t phoneshaking. Tapulous immediately removed the application, which was only available to download for 5 hours.
The application is no longer available for download. Tapulous’ website offers video of the application, but for now, the electronic handshake is dead in the water.
Hopefully, a service will become available that is similar to FriendBook but compatible with all cell phones. And when that happens, the standard business card may become a thing of the past.
But for now, that’s all speculation. So hang on to that stack of cards and your little plastic card-carrying case just a little longer. And stick with a firm handshake.
New services like rmbrME offer an electronic remedy to the problem of paper-based business cards. Only for many business people, business cards aren’t a problem that needs solving. Through text messages and web applications, rmbrME creates an electronic business card called a bzCard. Instead of carrying around a paper card, you email it to a contact.
Technology is supposed to make life easier, but sometimes the old-fashioned way of doing things reigns king.
New services like rmbrME offer an electronic remedy to the problem of paper-based business cards. Only for many business people, business cards aren’t a problem that needs solving.
Through text messages and web applications, rmbrME creates an electronic business card called a bzCard. Instead of carrying around a paper card, you email it to a contact.
Sign-up for the service was easy. I timed it. One minute, 14 seconds.
You enter your basic information; name, phone number, e-mail address. You go through two webpages, wait for a text message, and then you’re ready to send your electronic business card to anyone with a cell phone or e-mail.
I immediately started sending out my bzCard to some friends. Their initial response was hesitation, as they didn’t like the idea of having to login to a website to receive my information and then enter their own information to send a bzCard back. However, after a little coaxing, a few signed up and I received their cards and their information.
For the people that sign up, the service is practically sound. However, most people will probably be unwilling to spend the time or effort on signing up, especially at networking events where standard business cards are simply easier to exchange.
Improvements have to be made in order for services like rmbrME to replace the paper business card. The entire process needs to be streamlined. Contact information should be transferred immediately through cell phones, not later on through a web service or through e-mails.
I like the idea of rmbrME. But ultimately, it just isn’t inviting enough to take over the standard business card.
And sometimes technology just tries to make something nifty. Take FriendBook from developer Tapulous. This application allows iPhone owners to perform electronic handshakes by holding their devices next to each other and shaking them. This synchronized phoneshake (which I’m sure looks hilarious) transfers contact information between the two iPhones, offering the simplicity of rmbrME in a more streamlined package.
However, on the day of its launch, users reported that the application was sending contact information to complete strangers; as in, people who they weren’t phoneshaking. Tapulous immediately removed the application, which was only available to download for 5 hours.
The application is no longer available for download. Tapulous’ website offers video of the application, but for now, the electronic handshake is dead in the water.
Hopefully, a service will become available that is similar to FriendBook but compatible with all cell phones. And when that happens, the standard business card may become a thing of the past.
But for now, that’s all speculation. So hang on to that stack of cards and your little plastic card-carrying case just a little longer. And stick with a firm handshake.