Will social networking websites drive business card evolution?
Business cards are outdated
In this video Joel Bauer declares your business card is crap.
In the video he shows the business card that took him 25 years to design, costing $4 and not fitting in a Rolodex. Seems a waste of 25 years.
Moreover a Rolodex is a relic of the past (over 25 years), but so is his newly developed card.
Business cards not adapted for social networking websites
Still he is probably right that your business card is crap for many other good reasons:
The business card is a thing of the past, not adapted anymore to the online world and online life people live, even in business.
Eventhough your mobile phone number, your email address and your company website have been added in print, the card will always miss your online presence that goes beyond your email address: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, MySpace, and many more …
- All people have many presences on the Internet
- Not enough space on the card for all the links
- Online changes happen faster than the printing of a new stack of cards: you can’t keep up.
- Entering data from a business card into any computer system is a waste of time (so 70’s).
The Poken as business card
At the same time in some countries in Europe a new craze has started: the Poken.
It connects the online social networking into the real world.
Actually it is a USB memory key with an RFID antenna.
You know the RFID technology from the card people use to open a door of a building: physical access.
The RFID is used to exchange data.
The idea is you store your online credentials on the Poken using the USB connection on your PC.
Online credentials like your LinkedIn page, your Facebook page, your Twitter page, your MySpace page or your personal website.
When you meet with somebody new you exchange your online credentials by nearing your Pokens. If the data has been transferred the Poken hand will glow green. If faulty the hand will glow red.
Up to 64 contacts can be stored on the Poken. If you don’t upload the data to the website on the Internet, the oldest contact will be erased from the memory when adding on a next contact.
Price is about €15 or $20 and to be purchased online of course.
The company Poken SA is from Lausanne in Switzerland and has a presence on Facebook.
Already popular in schools, not yet in use for business: but that can change soon.
If teenagers can use it, their parents will be able too: they just need to ask their kids.
Will you next business card be a fancy paper card or will you have a Poken?
You can get Poken in the United States at PokenZoo.com. We have the classic Panda and Alien Pokens in stock, as well as the new Geisha, RapStar, Ninja and Vampire. Use coupon code 15percent to take 15% off your order.
Whoa… this site is pretty awesome
your layout is really well designed, and your blogs are (judging from what i’ve read) very interesting. heehee… consider yourself favorited. 
Just in United States? This will turn out a very big product for everyone and was hoping to see the availability of this product worldwide.
Not to mentioned how you presented the product on this blog is really amazing. Keep it up
i always make my own business card through adobe photoshop and ms word, they are satisfactorily made though.