[alex77]

This seems like it would be a bit of a faff. With physical business cards, exchanging them is as simple as moving a card from your pocket into the hand of the person you are giving it to. You can even collect a whole bunch at once and arrange them in front of you to remember everybody’s name at the meeting table. Who really struggles to keep track of physical cards? Insert into holder in alphabetical order when you get back. O(n)

With this there would be at least a couple buttons to mash on the phone, something will almost certainly go wrong with it in the middle of the Big Sales Meeting (sods law), you have to fiddle with your phone instead of looking your new contact in the eye etc etc.

If you are the sort of person that enjoys meticulously tagging mp3 files and has to add every single person they meet to FaceTweetMyspaceLinkedBook then maybe this seems great, but to me this is a solution to a nonexistent problem, that just makes life more difficult.

[renn]

Valid arguments, we're working to make everything easier each day. Thanks for the lengthy response!

[cd34]

You've not dealt with enough business cards.

You go to a meeting, you get 8 business cards, you have to add notes in the lobby or parking lot so that you know who the decision maker was, who the person was that was driving the initiative, and, the person that pays the bills. Identifying the people that you need to contact while it is fresh in your mind is important. Cards are usually traded at the end of a meeting, but, I've always made it a point to swap cards as early in the meeting as possible so I could take notes. Am I going to take notes on my phone? Probably not. That said, people need to quit using glossy two sided cards. I do have a legal pad, but, it is much easier for me to write a quick note on a card because I don't have to worry about two people having the same initials and did I write down the wrong piece of info, etc.

Would transferring those cards be any easier via phone? probably not. I can write quicker than I can open a card, select the person I'm talking with and enter the notes. Having a quick way to pull up the 3-8 cards I just received to type notes, added bonus. Having a way to add a voice memo that can later be transcribed or translated, additional bonus. Able to integrate with my contact management software, extra bonus as well.

That is half the problem, and, in particular, one that Bump, Google Goggles, this product and many others don't appear to handle well. When I go into a meeting, I have to remember who I promised what, who I need to follow up with and when. So far, dead-tree cards fit this purpose better.

Scenario two, I'm at a bar/restaurant or some gathering, perhaps even http://ftlhackandtell.eventbrite.com/ this weekend. I know the community there is likely to be technical, they are probably going to be on top of things, but, if I am there making contacts, there's one thing I need and that is a simple, seamless way of getting that data. I've got to carry Bump, Google Goggles, mynameise, and whatever other possible method I can to make sure I can swap info without having to swap a card. Email addresses are difficult to transcribe in loud settings, certain letters can be confused, people have cutesy names that miss a vowel so that it has to be spelled out letter by letter, etc.

"No, that's mgacontrl.ly yeah, megacontrol without the e and o, well, the first o in control, but not the second o, and .ly, but an l before the ., well, our sales staff liked the name"

Then, you have the conventions. In this case, business cards reign supreme. If I'm at a booth, I'm going to walk away with 200-500 business cards. People will hand me cards just to not hear a sales pitch and to get whatever promo goodies are being handed out. It isn't worth my time to get those cards electronically because 50% or more won't be interested and will give enough cues when I call back that they get moved aside. Of the interested ones, then I'll get those input into the system.

While each of these companies appear to be solving a problem, they really need to talk with the people that have the problem they're solving.

I was talking with a client this morning about the very issue. Three-four month android user, stack of 550 cards gathered over the last month. You know she deals with cards?

Lay them all face down on the photocopier, photocopy 10-13 cards at a time, puts them in a file folder to key into her contact management software on the plane to the next convention. She's very technically savvy, but, there are a host of reasons solutions don't work. Even the conventions have moved away from the barcode reader that reads the id badge and then hands you a list of each person you scanned at the end of the show.

I did tell her about Google Goggles for scanning the cards and she's going to try it on the next stack, but, out of 86 cards I scanned, 3 had errors - those three used serif fonts for the phone numbers. While it is nice for archival purposes, I can't depend on using google goggles at a function (unless it has a way for me to save a copy of the picture somewhere that I haven't seen).

I miss being in sales. :)

[ktsmith]

We print our cards glossy front w/ contact info. Matte back with small qr code containing contact info from front and the remaining area blank for quick notes. If someone wants to retain my contact info they can scan the qr code with one of the dozens of scanners currently available without having to worry about typos, data entry etc. It's also a bit of a conversation starter with those that have never seen one or don't know how they work which can make the meeting more memorable if it's a convention type setting.

[cd34]

I don't mind a glossy front as long as I have a matte side. I've used Sanford Uniball Micro blue pens since the 80s, but, at times have had to swap to the bic ballpoint disposable to write on a glossy card. Funniest thing ever was a prospect that had a card printed on actual photographic paper and he said, let me write my direct phone number on the card... after a few tries, flipped it over, still no joy. He ended up writing his number on one of my cards, which meant I had to keep both of those cards together. It was a beautiful card though and after 10 years, it is still in my desk.

[renn]

Just a very big thank you for this. That we have a product out there doesn't mean we're saying we've solved the problem. It's feedback like this that's making us better. Again, thank you.