CardMunch

CardMunch
January 18, 2012Comments (0)Printer-friendly versionPrinter-friendly version

From time to time I find myself at these events where I walk out with a stack of business cards. In this day and age, I don't keep an old fashioned rolodex. I want my contact list accessible on my phone. And to be honest, I've kept these stacks of cards and never sat down and entered them into a database or into my phone.

Now that almost everyone has a smart phone it may only be a matter of time before sharing contact information is done through apps. As convenient as it might be to shake your phone at someone and get their contact info, that hasn't really caught on. In fact, it's best to put your phone away while you're meeting new people to avoid getting distracted by the newest email or tweet that comes across your screen.

And let's face it, business cards are cool. They're pocket-sized, have your name on it, and when done right, can exude style and display your brand much better than beaming an electronic file to someone else's phone.

So I don't think business cards are going away, but that doesn't solve the problem of getting the info onto my phone. However, LinkedIn has solved the problem for me with their CardMunch iPhone app. With the app, you can take a picture of a business card, submit it, and a team of magic elves transcribe the information from the card and enter it into your phone. Not only that, but it associates that contact information with a LinkedIn profile if one exists. I sat down and got through my backlog of cards in a matter of five minutes.

For now, this is just for iPhone users, but LinkedIn has indicated that they're working on getting this on other platforms. It's only a matter of time, so hang on Droid users.

For more information about CardMunch, check out these links:

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Carlin Trammel
Posted by: Carlin Trammel
Posted on: January 18, 2012
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Carlin Trammel

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arlin has over ten years of experience in the print publishing field working with a wide variety of products including magazines, books and educational materials. He has also worked to link additional types of media to the print by producing videos that accompany books and magazine articles. Carlin has long been involved with many outside creative interests including short films, podcasts, blogs and comic books.
 

Carlin graduated from Illinois State University with a bachelor’s degree in mass communications – broadcasting. Observing that the communication and information industries are becoming more and more entwined, he is rounding out his education by working on his M.S. at Florida State University’s School of Library & Information Studies which he plans to complete in Spring of 2012.

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@Aaron_nix It's four o'clock wake up call time! (Also, would be a great time of birth for a new baby.) - Twitter 1 day ago

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  • He married his high school sweetheart, and they are proud parents of a 7-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son.
  • He is a huge fast food and soda junkie.
  • Believes that his hair is probably his most defining feature.
  • His heroes are Kermit the Frog, John "Hannibal" Smith from The A-Team, and Commander Riker.
  • He has modeled for various magazines and was once on the cover of 850 Business Magazine.
  • A letter he wrote was read on Late Night with David Letterman.

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