I don’t use the word serendipity often but I find that the word is apt in how this came to my attention.
I was in a staff meeting at my 9-5 and during a break, my colleague showed me his
Popl business card. I scanned it with my phone and was hooked. I bought one during the break of the staff mtg and started fleshing out my profile that the card links to online.
The irony is I did a version of this a year or two ago on my website for the corporate side as well as the Graphic Design of my site. It was a clever strategy in my mind because it mirrored the look and feel of an E-card but also exploited the layout that is inherently present on the mobile interface. Since it was simply a webpage on my site and hidden on the website, it was easy to add to or change it on the fly. This was cool to me because I have been enamored with QR code functionality ever since the first time I started using it and I was already looking for a solution to business cards that was cool, modern, played on the new technology and creativity, and it also spoke to the vanity involved with utilizing this particular version of Popl that looks like the black credit card, entertainers utilize. (don’t judge me for being human folks)
As much as I love the creative process of putting together business cards, it made sense to streamline my expenditures this way, and from a practical standpoint, the idea of changing business cards anytime my contact info changes, as well as the unprofessional nature of networking with an outdated card, didn’t appeal to me, so this made perfect sense.
(additionally, many people were already plugging my information into their phone anyway at networking events, even when they did grab my card)
the other win that came from this migration is the unfortunate effect COVID-19 has had on networking events and activities: the migration most organizations have made to virtual events.
The fact that the QR code on the front of this card can be scanned from a face-to-face interaction or from a computer screen made sharing this information seamless in either environment. Quite frankly, it is brilliant.
I am biased because I am using it, but in the words of my Instagram post: it’s “Easily one of the coolest business cards that I did not design”.
-JCIII
John Carter III is the Founder, CEO of 3rd JC Enterprises LLC, a creative marketing agency headquartered in Jacksonville Florida.
He is also an affiliate and active user of Popl feel free to #GetACard and #SaveThePaper using his code: 3rdjcent or visiting