New way to hand out business cards, er, contact info

Whenever I go to an event I usually bring business cards.  Sometimes I remember to hand them out and sometimes I don't.  Sometimes people to ask me for them, but usually they don't. When I'm speaking in front of a group I wouldn't take the time to hand out my cards.  And yet that's a moment that many people might want my contact information.

The next time I speak or go to an event I'm going to tell people "if you want my contact info take out your cellphone and send a text message to '50500'; type in 'ernieattorney' and hit send."  If you want to try this now you can see what those folks will receive.  

So what do you think?

That is my new digital business card, and I'll be using it extensively from now on.  Once my phone number and email are in the other person's phone they can click on the link to call me or email me, and thereby avoid the hassle of having to type in characters.  And if I offer someone my card they don't have to pretend to want it, only to toss in the trash later.  Simple, and very efficient.

This service is run by a company called Contxts (as in sending 'Contact info' by 'text message.'  Get it?)  It's free for now, so check it out.

Comments

[Lisa Solomon]

I've recently come across a service called DubMeNow, http://DubMeNow.com, that I think is even better than Contxts. Like Contxts, it's free and it works with any phone. Unlike Contxts, which relies exclusively on text messaging, you can send a DUB invite by e-mail as well as text. Call me old school, but I've never texted and text messaging is not included in my cellular plan.

You can also create a custom DUB ID (mine is lisasolomon). It even has a feature called Group DUB, which facilitates the exchange of contact information among groups (I'll be setting up a Group DUB for TechShow).

[Toby Brown]

Ernie - great idea. I just set up mine at tobybrown

Thanks,
Toby

[CD]

Some interesting folks have actually just invented a similar device, except it stores your business and social media info on it and if someone else has one they link together and automatically swap data. It's called the Poken. http://is.gd/nHUQ Apparently it's getting good buzz at SXSWi.

[Robert]

Just signed up, but now I'm thinking that maybe I should have tied the account to my website, instead of my legal practice...

Neat concept, thanks for the link.

[Print blog]

Never heard of this virtual business card concept until now.

Thanks for the find Ernie.

-Pete

[Dave!]

It sounds very interesting... I'm going to sign up and give it a try!

[Chris Hopkinson]

There's three other companies doing similar technology. BeamMe, MyDropCard and DubMeNow (I'm one of the founders of Dub). Most are simply sending a text message of your contact info. The end user then has to copy and paste the info into their address book.
Dub is the only one that currently syncs contact info directly to your native address book and automatically updates your address book anytime a contact changes their info. Dub also integrates with CRM systems such as Salesforce. Dub will also soon offer capability to send LinkedIn and/or Facebook invites along with your contact info (we've partnered with LinkedIn to offer this).
I would invite people to take a look at all 4 and see what you like best.
You can contact me directly if you have any questions regarding Dub.

Chris Hopkinson
DubMeNow
www.dubmenow.com
chris@dubmenow.com

[Kelly MacHenry]

So very cool. I just set mine up too and will use it often. Thanks for posting the idea. You're truly the tech king.
kellymachenry

[Roger Hayman]

DubmeNow should be called DubMeSilly because it solicits iPhone users to sign up and then says at the end of the process that no software is available for the iPhone.

How dishonest is that! What a waste of time!
Roger

[Megan Vernon]

Roger, I downloaded dub for free from the app store on my iphone with no problems. Check it out

[jordan]

Think strategy: I tried many designs, and found simple to work very well. In addition to design, one of the most important components is your strategy. I found this strategy to distribute the cards very helpful. Read: http://tinyurl.com/lbh2ac