There’s a new attempt to use technology to replace traditional business cards. swivelCard is the latest attempt at a high-tech business card. At first glance, it looks like a basic business card made of thick cardstock. But the innovative feature is the card’s ability to fold up and become a USB drive.
First there was LinkedIn, the social media version of a business card. But that doesn’t help with in-person interactions. Then there were apps, QR codes, and various other high-tech versions of business cards. But none have reached the popularity level of traditional business cards. Who knows? Maybe swivelCard is the answer.
The USB drive directs recipients to a website or specific link. And you can change the website at any time. So if you’ve discussed a particular product or service with someone, you can hand them a business card that leads to your main website. But you can change it so that the card will direct the recipient to the specific page of the product or service you discussed.
A Kickstarter campaign for swivelCard has already exceeded its $10,000 goal. And the team has raised over $70,000 to date with still more than three weeks to go.
Giving a bit more of an overview of how the technology works, the swivelCard Kickstarter page explains:
“Remote access to your swivelCard gives you many opportunities to continue interacting with the card’s recipient. With the back-end interface you’ll be able to log in to your account and remotely make changes to the destination. Plus, this can be done individually for each specific card. Want that potential client to go to a list of testimonials instead of your standard video greeting? You can make that change on the fly after they’ve left with the card!”
That’s likely the feature that has the potential to set this business card option apart from the competition. QR codes and even traditional business cards have the ability to direct recipients to a website. But swivelCard allows users to tailor which page or link each recipient will see when they plug in their USB drive.
In this brief video, swivelCard inventor Andrew DePaula lists some other features of the card:
But with this technology, you can get them directly to the page of the product or service they’re most likely to purchase. There’s less opportunity for them to get distracted or uninterested, and more opportunity to turn prospects into buyers.
It remains to be seen if this concept will catch on a large scale. Price could be one factor. The cards are currently only available to Kickstarter backers who pledge at least $59. That will get you 15 of these — pretty steep for a business card. And more are available at higher contribution levels.
So it remains to be seen whether the price will come down after the technology is on the market.
Aira Bongco
The concept is quite new to me. I don’t know if it will work. I wonder about how this USB will work. Will it not break if the card is damaged? If it does, then how will it work without the USB drive?
Annie Pilon
It seems like pretty heavy-duty material, but I’m sure there’s still a way to damage it. It will be interesting to see if the technology catches on, but I’m not sure it will just yet.