One Hand Clapping December 11, 2009
Posted by Chuck Musciano in Technology.Tags: Communication, Networking, Poken, Social Media
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A few weeks ago, I fretted about the need for business cards amidst all these new-fangled connectivity tools. Although we have all sorts of ways to sustain a connection once it’s made, it still takes a little card to get most connections started.
Until now, that is. I recently learned about a clever new device called a Poken. The size of a USB drive, a Poken contains a unique serial number and an RFID tag reader. When you acquire a Poken, you register it on the Poken web site. On that site, you associate your contact information with your unique serial number. You can even create multiple contact cards, with separate business and personal information.
When you encounter another Poken user, you simply touch your Poken to theirs. The devices sense each other, exchange serial numbers, and glow green to indicate a successful exchange. Later, when you plug your Poken into your computer, you are shown the contact information for the person that you just met. You can download that data into Outlook, another mail client, or just keep it on the Poken web site.
Essentially, a Poken is a digital business card, without all the bother of carrying paper cards. Even better, you can’t run out of cards with a Poken, and you never lose a card you’ve acquired. Best of all, the data is already entered for you on the Poken site, so you’ll never transcribe another business card.
It’s easy to imagine folks exchanging contact information at a conference or social event. I could also see vendors with Poken readers at their booths, eliminating the need to “swipe your badge” to gather customer data. There are all sorts of imaginative ways to use a Poken.
Poken also has a clever privacy feature. You may encounter someone with whom you do not wish to exchange information. Instead of awkwardly avoiding them, you discreetly tap a button on the Poken twice, just before touching it to their Poken. You get their serial number, but they get a “ghost card” from you. When they later synchronize their Poken, they see an empty business card (and have a private awkward moment). If you later decide to reveal yourself to them, you can do so on the Poken site and your card will be revealed.
With all this going for it, what’s not to like about the Poken? It’s small, easy to use, well-designed, geeky-cool, and a conversation starter. What more could you want?
Well, I’d like to find someone else who owns one. Honestly, I don’t even know if mine works, although I have high hopes. Owning the only Poken in a crowd is much like the sound of one hand clapping. For this great idea to take off, a lot of people need to acquire Pokens. And soon.
So, I implore all of you to get a Poken. While most Pokens target a younger demographic, the Poken Pulse sports a more executive style and offers 2 gigs of USB storage to boot. With Christmas approaching, I think a Poken makes the perfect gift for everyone on your shopping list. You’ll find dozens of Pokens (including the Pulse) at findapoken.com. Do yourself (and me) a favor: hasten the end of paper business cards and get a Poken today.
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need to get companies to start giving these away at trade shows and corporate events
Chuck,
You have hit on the big issue of an emerging technology that requires a critical mass of users to be successful. Back in the days of the PDA I had a Palm Pilot and loved to beam contact info but would exchange contact into in less then 5% of my interactions this way. Eventually I gave up asking people. I suspect that the Poken will have a similar fate.
Instead I expect solutions like Bump ( http://www.bumptechnologies.com/ )
to be the wave of the future. Bump is now on the iPhone and Android platforms, it is easy to use, and immediately feeds info to your contacts system.
As Near Field Communication ( http://www.nfc-forum.org/home ) takes off we will see this type of electronic exchange become standardized on cell phones.
Oh. And that whole one hand clapping thing?
I have to agree with John that I think Bump does something very similar. Based on what I read about Poken, it’s much better, however in order to work, everyone needs one. Bump, or any similar app, just requires Android or iPhone which many people already have. I think the hardware requirement will make all of the difference.
I know about Bump, and many people that I show my Poken to say “It’s like Bump!” The upside of Bump is that it requires no extra hardware, provided you own the right phone (in particular, one with a G-sensor) and it only works when you have coverage. (Bump is a very clever example of simulating data movement between two devices that, in fact, never connect).
That said, Poken has some advantages. I like the “ghost card” idea, and I also like that my online card holds all my social media contact info, allowing people to easily connect through other platforms after we connect on Poken. Finally, as I update my info on Poken, the new data is presented to everyone who is connected to me. Bump is a “point in time” connection, like a real business card.
Ideally, these worlds will blend, with the abstraction and security of Poken and the ubiquity of Bump. Integrating Poken readers into phones would help, and a Poken app that worked on iPhones without requiring hardware would boost acceptance as well.
I also remember the days of beaming with my Palm. But in that case, it wasn’t that people didn’t have Palms (lots of people did) but that no one knew how to set up or use beaming. At least with Poken, a simple touch makes it work.
It is good to see experimentation in this space, that’s for sure.
Chuck –
I, too, would like to see this take off.
Apparently, many people have a low threshold for tech-learning pain. VCRs taught us that in the 80s, and it’s still true. So, the simpler, the better (as poken is described). I’m amazed how few people seem to know that their cell phone can scan and be scanned for blue tooth identification, for example, yet I’ve sat on a bus and learned someone’s name (or screen name) before ever saying a word.