At a recent business networking event, @krusk introduced me to CardMunch—a fantastic mobile app that lets you take a photo of a business card and seamlessly upload it to a transcription service. This service involves human verification to ensure that the OCR accurately captures all the details before pushing the contact information back to your iPhone app.
This is particularly useful when you gather a stack of business cards at such events. And yes, people still use business cards—they carry a certain charm.
What’s even more impressive is that CardMunch, which used to have a nominal service charge, is now completely free. Why? Last month, LinkedIn acquired the company and plans to integrate this functionality into their platform. The price of the acquisition was not disclosed.
Ah, now it all makes sense. LinkedIn has acquired a powerful tool that complements their business model perfectly. By offering this service for free, they encourage viral adoption and foster deeper business engagement. Perhaps LinkedIn is looking to solidify its appeal as professionals increasingly turn to Facebook. Either way, it's a smart move and an excellent investment by LinkedIn.
Interestingly, this event featured Francois Gossieaux as a guest speaker. He discussed how businesses can build communities by offering valuable services around their core products—a fitting topic to complement the introduction of such a useful mobile app.