How do you share your contact info when networking in person?

Hey, I think it's very useful you can generate a QR code with your LinkedIn or Angel-list profile, and telling people "Just scan".

Here is a simple way , you would never lose contact with the person.

Create a simple form that takes name & email address. Behind the scenes, make it such that as soon as it gets a response an automated email is triggered introducing yourself (and whatever you want to convey.)

So next time you meet someone interesting in a conference, handover your phone (with the form open) instead of a business card. :)

Depends on whether I want to follow up with the person or they want to follow up with me. If the former, I bias towards action/conversation and in the moment, I will ask to exchange phone numbers or set specific time on the calendar in the coming days/weeks. If the latter, I let them connect with me on LinkedIn (assuming they don't ask for anything more specific).

LinkedIn. All traffic goes there for networking. I wish we could tap our phones and be like "Connected". There's always some weirdness when we try to figure out all the connection stuff.

My wallet is also on the back of my phone so the business cards are really going away for me.

We actually wanted to share our linkedin in a conference and we found out linkedin actually has the qr code functionality built-in to the app xD
Just click on the search and on the top right side you see the qr code icon.
The qr code is a deep link so on the scanner phone it opens linkedin if installed.

Pre pandemic life - huh. Sharing business cards never worked - the best is to follow each other on Twitter. So if the app allows me to follow a networked person with one click on all platforms + leave a quick note about that person - that would be a game-changer.

Does someone still remember Poken? The little toy, keychain hanger, which you had to high-five to other peoples toy, and then when you got back home had to download the contact details via the built-in USB-a connection?

Or am I really starting to show my age here 😉

Anyhow, LinkedIn has this built-in QR code scanner, when you click on the search bar in the mobile app and then on the QR code icon in the right corner.

It generates your code and allows you to scan the other person's code within seconds. The moment I found out about that functionality was a game-changer. Haven't looked for anything else since.

If you want to leave behind a lasting impression though, I once knew someone that took a stamp with them and when they got handed a business card, they would just stamp over their information on a white part of the card and handed it back...

@virgilioju this is a really interesting idea, something I’ve considered.

I moved away from business cards years ago, and set up virtual business cards of which I distributed 0 of.

I like the idea, but I wouldn’t use an app if I’m honest. There are apps for everything now, and it would be easier just to share my LinkedIn with them.

Something that would be interesting is a way whether this could leverage your contact cards in cellphones, integrating to LinkedIn and sharing directly?

Or perhaps, one problem I have is I meet a lot of people in different places and often save them as “Andrew Hiking” for example, but a better way of organising this would be interesting to ensure once making the contacts, how do you follow up.

Uhmmmm, that’s all! Hope that helps!

Adam

I agree with faisalkhan, I rarely ever give out business cards and if I receive any of them I throw them out pretty quickly. It's just not a reliable way to remember someone's information. I'll typically look them up on LinkedIn, or I'll ask for their email so I can follow up with them and take the conversation from there.

I would agree LinkedIn is also a great way to meet people you haven't met. Cold DMs there can be a great way to hop on an initial call with someone to chat.

I don't do cards anymore. I used to and not give a flying f**k about them once the conference was over. It is much easier now to take a snapshot of the person's badge or card, and a picture of themselves. I send this to my assistant/colleague, who looks them up on LinkedIn. It takes 10 seconds for me to include a voice note to my colleague via WhatsApp to let them know under what context I met them. She will write an intro email and send them a connect request. That has been the best way. Always through LinkedIn. If you're a professional, LinkedIn is the gate you enter through. I rarely give my phone number or email out the first time around.

QR codes sadly have never worked the way one wants them to. I've never seen a broad, out-of-conference usage for them.

https://blinq.me/

I barely network in offline mode but I understand what problem you're trying to solve here.
I don't know what kind of product you're planning to build, but here's what I would like it to do -

• An app that will help me design a QR code with all the relevant details.
• Once someone scans that QR code, it should save my details on that person's phone or it should email my details to that person.
• Scanning QR codes and getting information should not require the installation of any app because I can't tell a stranger to install an app.

Hope that helps with a direction from the user's POV.

business card