In the technological world that we live in, giving out business cards is a dated notion. They get lost all of the time, and the ones that people keep usually aren’t needed. Then you get a whole stack of useless cards laying around on your desk, getting mixed up with the things that you actually need. Pretty lame. But, business cards are still a good way of giving out contact information quickly to people that you’ve just met. If you want someone to remember you in a few days or even a few hours later, having that card can be vital. Nevertheless, it makes for perpetual clutter. uME is hoping to change that, reports Jennifer Van Grove from Mashable. uME offers iPhone users the ability to design their own business cards for free and then share them with people they meet. It’s not required for both people to have the app, so anyone can view the cards. They can be updated constantly, so people are never stuck with an outdated business card. The standard cards are free of charge. The cards are sent via either email or Twiter, and users can view a history of what they’ve sent and received. Users can scan their cards to other uME members, so that they can have the card without having to go through either email or Twitter. An Android app will be released in the next few months.

Conclusion

This is definitely a good idea, but it’s not quite ready to replace cards completely. Having to go through email or Twitter is a drawback, since it requires getting an address or handle, which in itself takes longer than just giving someone a card. Once uME develops an easier way of sending the cards, it will really be on to something, and anything that saves a couple of branches works for me.