In this week’s Milwaukee start-up focus, we meet Meet-Meme, originator of the Meet-Meme social media trading card. For those not familiar with them, picture a baseball-card-meets-business-card capable of giving your contacts more than your basic information. The Meet-Meme cards personalize things further by sharing your links on social networks, Twitter follower count, and even your “special power”. As a business tool, the Meet-Meme cards successfully bridge the offline and the online experience of professional networking.
I recently sat down with the William Caraher, who is an affiliate of Meet-Meme, to talk a little bit about what makes this startup so unique. Bill started off by telling me about the debut of the Meet-Meme card at 2009’s social media conference in Milwaukee called “Ungeeked Elite”. Coordinating the efforts of the Milwaukee-based design team at Translator and printed by First Edge Solutions, the cards were distributed to attendees to Ungeeked as part of the initial kick-off, and were well received. Since then they have been featured everywhere from on the local news to the news blog Mashable’s Summer Tour. Bill said that the best part about the Meet-Meme cards is the instant conversations that the card generates as soon as you hand it to someone. He explained that you may go to a meeting or conference and get dozens of bland and boring business cards, but the Meet-Meme cards stick out in people’s minds because of their uniqueness and style, while also having a professional feel.
Newer incarnations of the Meet-Meme cards now also include a QR barcode allowing smart phone users to visit get your entire contact information in their phone with one scan. As we spoke, Bill also mentioned a great point: With a price point less than most promotional items like pens or key chains, the Meet-Meme cards are a great promotional giveaway as well. Some larger Milwaukee-area hiring firms have already taken advantage of the Meet-Meme cards at career fairs and recruitment events as a show of personal branding. One thing is for sure, though; correct use of your Meet-Meme trading cards may just have you collecting leads. Visit www.meet-meme.com to get your beta code for ordering cards, or if you’d like further information.
