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GREEN BUSINESS CARD

October 2011
By: Craig A. Ruark, LEED AP (BD+C)

Dir. of Business Development, Nevada By Design How many business cards do you collect in a month? I have a stack on my desk that measure nearly one inch high. How much time does it take you to put all of the information into your Outlook or other such contact’s program? What do you do with those cards after you enter the contact information?

My answer is that I place the cards in the paper recycle which is a pretty green thing to do. But wouldn’t it be nice if you did not have to take the time to manually enter the information or even scan the cards through a card reader. Think of the time and paper you could save if you could just magically transmit your contact information electronically.

I have a Smartphone with “Apps” (like most everyone I know), and one of those Apps is a QR reader. The QR code is a three dimensional square that looks like a Rorschach test and contains personalized information. The information is analyzed by the QR reader application and links your phone to a web page. This web page can be anything from your business home page to a blog page or special computer advertising. And the information can be changed anytime you wish.

Now there are companies have allow you to build your own business card to create your own personal QR code; like the one below.

You simply store that QR code in the photo section of your phone then an acquaintance uses their phone to capture the code. Once captured, your information appears on their phone and a V-card can be saved to their outlook. The nice thing is that it does not matter whether you have an i-Phone, Android, BlackBerry, or are one of the few like me with a Windows phone, the QR code works with all formats.

I am not promoting any particular company. However, MobileKlik has created a “digital business card” that you can share with any Smartphone and even better it’s free (for now), but you have to use the special sign up page to get it, here’s the link:

http://www.mobileklik.net/freeoffer.php

Here also is a free QR code generator and a QR code reader. But there are many more options available.

Kaywa QR Code Generator

QR Reader iPhone app by TapMedia