Forget Business Cards, Get Social!

However nifty or shiny a business card might be, it’s nevertheless SO last century! And, as soon as the information it might contain gets transcribed in a phone-book or somewhere similar, will mostly end up in the back of a desk drawer because it’s nothing more than another business card.

Overcoming average in personal branding requires nowadays more than some distinct fonts printed out on a piece of paper. Still, in order to escape from the herd one does not need to entirely ditch old habits. Instead, why not complete common contact information found on usual cards (e.g. street address, telephone and fax numbers, e-mail address and website) with new ones able to update in real-time, like personal tweets or Facebook status updates?  That’s right – this new breed of business cards updates when you need it to, with no other costly reprints and useless tarring down of trees.

Social media-enabled business cards are a better way to be remembered and to ease further discussions online. Business partners can share LinkedIn details in no-time. And long-seen friends can catch-up with their pals’ online presence as simple as it gets. And the entire process is quite straightforward and user-friendly – it’s a matter of connecting via an internet-enabled mobile device, with the user having total control on what to send to whom.

This sounds to good to be true, doesn’t it? Ehm… Unfortunately, at present it is available only among those already having subscribed for a social business card.

The good news is that everybody can get one at mynameise.com or poken.com. Choose between the serious-but-not-at-all-uptight E or the fun-oh-matic-ready-for-business Poken. Or if you happen to have an iPhone, there is also the option to simply bump your phone with similar devices with this rad app from bu.mp. Sounds exciting, doesn’t it? And this is just a glimpse at what might be easily called a revolution in contact management.