This article originally appeared September 2, 2008.
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.
Some other “electronic business card” services have gained in popularity since this article originally appeared. The new ones rely on various forms of electronic widgets to “exchange” information with others as you meet them face to face. They can be used in any situation, but might be particularly helpful at conferences and tradeshows.
Here are two I’ve become familiar with recently:
http://www.mingle360.com
http://www.poken.com
There are really three distinct advantages:
1. Not having to carry around business cards. The expense of printing, remembering to put them in your pocket, and the hassle of running out are all potential pain points. With one of these, those “problems” go away.
2. You won’t lose anyone’s card. It’s all handled electronically and categorizes, sorts it all nicely. Poken does a nice job of this in particular with their nifty time-line of contacts that’s graphically easy to navigate.
3. A lot more information can be shared that goes a lot more in-depth than just email and phone number. The sites allow you to really expand on who you are with text, links, video, etc.
Of course the big disadvantage is that the people you meet also have to be on the same system. That’s one reason it can work well at conferences. The conference organizer can make it part of the program so that everyone has the devices for the duration of the event.
To a certain extent I agree that these are solutions in want of a problem. But some of the most innovative and life-changing leaps forward in technology were solving problems that we didn’t know we had.
If one is in professional business sales or the professions, such as a lawyer, accountant, etc., it is not going to replace person-to-person contact. Businesses do not buy important products, not commodities like office supplies, through the mail, email or ecards. After 30 years of B2B sales of software and hardware, I cannot imagine flooding prospects with ecards. It might be more fruitful if I get up off my duff and start trying to get appointments.