We live in the Internet age, where most of our personal and business activities depend on computers and electronic devices. This digital life is what leads to the creation of the electronic calling card. The business card started as a novelty in becoming a necessary tool for business networking.
What is a digital business card?
These modern contact cards can now be sent and received electronically via wireless using tools, email, internet, SMS or Bluetooth instead of using paper as a medium.
What are the types of digital business cards?
There are four main types of business cards; Phone contact cards, email-based business cards, social networking sites such as business cards and tools and applications such as Pokens or iPhone used to exchange business card data.
The phone calling card and the email-based digital contact card are quite interchangeable as you can now send an email over the phone and you can also email using your phone. The main difference is that phone-based digital dialing cards work from your phone and make use of SMS or Bluetooth features, while email-based digital dialing cards work from your email account.
Examples of telephone-based digital contact cards are Contexts, TxtID, and DUB. Contexts allow you to send and receive calling cards via SMS, while TxtID is a service that works by the other party texting your username to a six-digit number and where they will receive your contact information via SMS. To use DUB contact cards, you first have to create an account on their website, and then you can have it sent to other users via email or SMS, simply by sending an SMS to the DUB site. These services start with free program options, but usually offer paid services that give you access to more functionality or send and receive more digital calling cards.
For email-based business cards, companies like Drop Card and Weavemet offer such services. Both companies offer services such as Contxts and TxtID where you create a profile on their website, send the email address to a dropcard number and your contact will receive your contact card in their email.
The third type uses your social network profiles such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Google profiles as contact cards. There is also a service that brings together all of your social networking profiles like MyNameIsE, which is a place that brings together all of your social profiles into a virtual calling card that can be accessed via mobile web.
The last category of digital business card is devices like iPhone apps or Pokens that you use with other people with the same devices where the device deals with contact information. Some of these apps specialize in entering contact data. Examples of these iPhone apps are vCard and BeamME.
What is the advantage of a digital business card?
Digital business cards offer many benefits, here are some of them:
It's easier to set up. Since digital business cards don't really require any aesthetic styling, you don't have to worry about designing one. The person you are giving it to will not lose it as digital calling cards cannot be lost or left behind because your contact always has it in their email account, phone or other web based contact sharing account.
It is environmentally friendly. Digital contact cards do not require paper, so you help the environment when using electronic business cards.
It is effective. When a paper card is issued, most people scan it or enter the data on their phones or computers, but if your calling card is already digitally provided, the recipient does not have to go through the hassle of coding it anymore.
As mentioned earlier, digital calling cards are often requested, especially since most people use Internet phones and iPhones, where providing digital contact cards is more convenient for these tech-savvy people. It is really useful to get a digital calling card to keep in touch, whether for personal or business purposes.
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