26Sep Virtual Business Cards
Carrying business cards around can be a hassle. There have been many times where I went to a gathering and met up with someone who shared my interests only to remember that I forgot my business cards at home. There are many solutions out there that tackle this problem. I’ll cover two of those solutions in this post: rmbrME and DropCard.
rmbrME
rmbrME is a service whicl allows you to send and receive socially-networked business cards (what they call bzCards) via text messages. The company has a special short code (762763) which you use to send a text message containing the number of the person you want to send your contact details to. The person then gets a text message containing a URL to your bzCard. The link takes the person to your personal rmbrME profile which will give them a link to download your information via a vCard or connect to you via one of the many social networking websites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.
The limitation here is that it requires the other party to visit the rmbrME website in order to get your information. I think it’d be faster just to send them your phone number and/or email via a text message. One of the perks is that this service is free.
DropCard
DropCard is a service I was recently introduced to while browsing my RSS aggregator. It’s a neat service that, as rmbrME, allows you to txt the person(s) your information. The only difference is that DropCard has a special format for their messages. By typing in:
41411 email-address
you can email the person one of the profiles you’ve setup with your contact information. The benefit this service has over rmbrME is that the recipient immediately gets a an email with your selected profile’s contact details via a vCard that they can download.
DropCard has 3 service plans. The free plan allows you to create two profiles and send up to 15 contacts per month. The premium plan costs $4.99 and allows you to send 100 cards per month and create 20 profiles. The elite plan costs $9.99 and is their unlimited package.
These services are excellent when it comes to getting connected to people quickly and also helping save costs in terms of printing business cards. Kudos to both companies.
November 10th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
Another option is a service like TextID–a recently launched novel way to help people communicate with customers, colleagues and friends—WITHOUT paper. TextID allows users to purchase unique text “domains”, such as their names or businesses that allows them to pass along contact information and messages quickly and conveniently. They can give out their ID, lawn care or Angie for example, and the recipient texts that name to 555411. In just a few moments, they will receive a text back to their phones with contact information and the message the TextID member has chosen, which can also include a pdf file or brochure.
Obviously the new service has a wide range of applications, from personal to commercial. Whether for realtors looking to get pricing and home information into a potential buyer’s hand while they are out looking for a home, a hip teacher providing up-to-date assignment and test information, a restaurant passing on weekly specials, a club promoter pushing the weekend band, or someone just looking to make the dating scene a bit easier, Text ID works great for a variety of users.
Check it out at http://www.textid.com
November 11th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
Wouldn’t work for me though, you don’t have my carrier listed.