Needless to say, there will be a whole lot of networking going on at Connect SF '08. That is a very good thing. It also means that you should come prepared with as many business cards as you can muster. Jay Thompson gave us a little sneak peak of the amount of cards you can expect to come away with, and all of those cards lead to potential relationships:
I know that I had a similar experience to Jay. Not only did a gain a lot of cards, but I gave away a whole bunch, too. This, however, posed a bit of a difficulty for me. I can only carry so many business cards on me at any given time. I don't particularly want to lug around a big brick of business cards with a rubber-band around them. That's not cool.
But then, what do I do when my finite supply of cards is exhausted at the end of the day (or long night), and I meet someone that I would like to give my card to? I don't want to pass up the opportunity to have a fruitful relationship with someone just because I ran out of cards. That's not cool, either.
What DropCard does is very cool. It allows you send your contact inforamtion (virtual business card) to anyone's email address. Okay, so that might not be anything new. What makes DropCard different and valuable is that it allows you to send your information as a text message from your cell phone.
Now we're talking.
This is perfect if you don't have any business cards on you. All you have to do is sign up for DropCard and fill out your profile. Then, when someone asks for your information, simply send a text message to DropCard with the person's email address. BAM! DropCard will email your info to the person you just met. Very cool.
This is also useful if you have already exchanged info with someone you have just met, and you just want to follow-up with them to make sure they have all of your correct information. And since you can update your profile at any time, your contact information always stays current. No need for costly reprints!
Oh, and did I mention that the service is free?
I learned all about DropCard from a blog post by Joe Ferarra at Sellsius. Joe gave DropCard a full review, complete with screen shots. In case you want to get Joe to drop a card into your email, you can meet him at Connect SF '08, since he is on the fabulous roster of speakers.
So, I hope that you will bring plenty of business cards with you to Connect. And I also hope that you will meet so many people that you completely exhaust your supply. When you do, DropCard will be there to help.
