Examiner.com

BusinessCard2 is the first PSP (personal selling platform) to hit the market.

It started in the way most Social Media is supposed to work, virally.  A BusinessCard2.com card was promoted on one of my friend’s Facebook pages and I was intrigued.  I had to find out more.  What I found was Minneapolis based company looking to change how personal information moved from one person to another across the web.

BusinessCard2 is self-promotion tool designed to empower business people to create, promote, and broadcast their unique professional persona throughout the internet. ‘It is also a great way for consumers and business people to research and interact with professionals.’ Says Lief Larson, the CEO of Workface Inc. (the think tank behind BusinessCard2), ‘It is the digital business card of the web.’  
 

Some features include messaging and an on board chat program.

The goal of BusinessCard2 is to create a bridge between traditional marketing and sales processes in the real world and the virtual processes of the Internet. ‘We knew that making meaningful connections on the internet was difficult -- that's why we set out to design BusinessCard2 to solve the problem.  We're building the world's largest network of interactive business cards.’

Larson hopes BusinessCard2 becomes another tool in a user’s Social Media arsenal. ‘So much of social media that exists right now is about relationships with those we already know.  That's great when it's personal social networking.  However, when you're networking for commercial purposes it is often about trying to connect with those you don't yet know.’  

Much of what BusinessCard2 is trying to tackle is about controlling an individual’s personal brand and their virtual introduction to a new professional acquaintance.  ‘Whether you’re an independent professional or work for a Fortune 500 company, your personal brand matters. The BusinessCard2 platform is designed to assist in your self-packaging.  It was built to hold all the things that make you digitally distinct (your name, your image, your knowledge, your collateral, etc.).’  

How did this idea come about?
 
Larson:  I had a fundamental belief that business, products and services aren't just about the brand and packaging, it's about the people.  When we began to build the platform we were looking for something synonymous with business and professional courtesy.  That's when the idea of an engaging business card for the web hit me.  Why not do the same type of thing the business card has been doing in the real world for 350 years, but bring it to the internet and allow it to be interactive and educational?

How are you different from your competitors?

Larson: BusinessCard2 is the world's first PSP (personal selling platform), so we really don't have direct competition.  The concept of personal selling has existed for over a hundred years.  It's about the tactics and techniques us salespeople (and we're all salespeople to some extent) use to engage with prospective customers and partners. 

Each BusinessCard contains the user's personal and business websites.

What are some of the key functions?

Larson:  To start off, BusinessCard2 functions as a web container.  It can hold all the things that make you professional distinct.  It can store your contact information and all the same data you find on a printed business card.

However, it also stores images, over sixty different types of files, slideshows, and video.  The reason that's important is that you want to inform and educate your prospects on why they should do business with you.

We're also doing some ‘first of its kind’ technology.  For example, we recently launched real-time chat in the card so anonymous customers can reach out to you and chat with you. 

Beyond these features, the card is portable.  It can be shared on websites.  BusinessCard2 is the only rich, interactive web container that can be shared on a Facebook wall (not a link, but the real card).

-------

Other interesting features include messaging, an onboard chat system, a personalized domain at BusinessCard2.com (which the user helps select – a wonderful feature!) and the ability to share files with those who view your card.  You can also embed you BusinessCard2 into your web page.

For more information visit BusinessCard2.com.

Below is an example of my embedded BusinessCard.

Don't miss a thing!  'Subscribe' near the top of this article or follow me on Twitter.