Navigating the line between augmented-reality-as-buzzword-of-the-moment and the technology’s genuine utility can be tricky of late, and Jonas Jäger’s new Augmented Business Card technology is indicative of the problem. On the one hand, the concept is certainly cool—enriching a traditional paper business card with a rotatable quasi-3D image of yourself along with live Twitter updates, contact links, and gesture-controlled media. But beyond the undoubtedly slick presentation, we have to ask ourselves; will this have any relevance once the gleam and polish of augmented reality wears off, and the crumpled shrink wrap is on the floor? Augmented reality is melding functionality and gimmick to a near-inextricable degree, and it seems problematic when applied to the business card, one of the most distilled instances of the medium being the message.
Does the business card need to be revolutionized? Does it need to evolve? Is it really worth holding someones business card up to a webcam for a 3D rendering of phone numbers and tweets? Couldn’t this same information be relayed on a clean, simple, well-designed, business card? These questions will all answer themselves as people who hand out augmented reality business cards (the source code for which will soon be available for free on Jäger’s site) either find an uptick or slide in the number of people who bother getting in touch with them. Either way, augmented reality needs to be watched carefully, lest it become the void of hype that virtual reality was in the 90s.
[via Gizmodo]
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The difference between AR and VR is nobody in the 90s carried a virtual reality headset around with them every day. You say “holding someones business card up to a webcam” but this will never be how AR is widely used. It will be used on iPhones and similar web/video camera mobile devices. I still think it’s kind of unnecessary to incorporate AR into the traditional business card but I have seen some other interesting ideas (posted on PSFK probably) involving “clouds” of information surrounding people.
July 27th, 2009 at 7:52 am
Seen a few of these kicking around. A nice AR usage, but I don’t think AR has found it’s “killer app” yet …
July 27th, 2009 at 8:19 am
Agree the 3D capabilities are interesting but novelty. Our firm has been thinking about AR biz cards and here is one way folks might use the technology — Video Biz Cards. Now sales teams can carry a product demo, creative portfolio (reel) or just a personal video message from themselves to others (never be forgotten again after a big networking event) without having to burn custom CD/DVD or hand out Flash Drives. Just put a marker on your biz card and presto – paper becomes video.
http://budurl.com/lnm6
@TomMartin
July 27th, 2009 at 11:17 am
Great insights here – especially about “deciding what not to do.” Startups are often about conquering molehills, not turning them into mountains. Entrepreneurs who worry about “covering all of their bases” often spend all of their time and money “covering bases” without ever getting their concept out the door.
July 28th, 2009 at 12:26 am
AR will come to a meeting you are in soon.
I think this is building momentum to the tipping point but not the killer application.
July 28th, 2009 at 2:59 am
It doesn’t matter, I think the new business cards are your blog profile or your phone’s business card option.
Signature: Telling stories with right storyboarding presentation together with PowerPoint presentation is like owning a printing press and printing your own currency.
August 3rd, 2009 at 10:08 am
Augmented Reality is certainly a bright shiny object susceptible to gimmickry, but this is one BOS that can provide real value to both marketers and consumers. Not Webcam AR, but Mobile AR. And Mobile AR combined with tagging and GPS.
This is one BOS I’m actually excited to see play out – if the big dumb agencies don’t exploit it with mindless implementations just to show their clients how cool they are.
August 7th, 2009 at 10:40 am