3 ms·

Email. Or take a photo of a QR code, or take a photo of the email address. Or take a photo of the phone number. Or call the other one to confirm that you've typ

by pas 6y ago

Email. Or take a photo of a QR code, or take a photo of the email address. Or take a photo of the phone number. Or call the other one to confirm that you've typed the correct number, and the other party will be able to instantly save your number too. I think this problem is not that big of a problem. After all, worst case, you can just hand out a paper business card. There's rarely a need to get someone's contact details without even knowing who they are, at least their name, etc. And when we have their name and we can link them to something (a common friend, a company), we can usually find them quite easily. Or am I mistaken? Are there examples where bump/shake would be really that useful?

toyg 6y ago
> Email Awkward to spell and to remember, unless you write it right there and then and get the other to proofread it. You also get a single piece of information, not even a full name. > QR code Pretty uncommon where I live (Northern UK), particularly outside geeky circles. > take a photo of the email address This is occasionally done but it's annoying (you have to transcribe it later) and again is unlikely to carry any other data like the guy's name. > Or call the other one to confirm that you've typed the correct number It takes time out of the conversation to proofread the contact name as you save it, and you're then lacking email - yeah you can get it with a phone call, which is already pretty awkward ("can I call you to send you an email to organise a call"), and again spelling an email over the phone is pretty bad and error-prone. > worst case, you can just hand out a paper business card. That's what I do, but apart from the environmental impact, you then have to print and store a bunch of cards and every time you change job it takes weeks (or months) to get new ones (and cringe at their design). Dunno, maybe I'm more sensitive to this because my name is difficult to spell for English people, but I do wish I could avoid having to drag with me stacks of thick paper. > Are there examples where bump/shake would be really that useful? Trade shows, sales events, all the way to going to a bar and it turns out some guy is a decorator you might call on.
- pas 6y ago
  > Trade shows, sales events, all the way to going to a bar and it turns out some guy is a decorator you might call on. Hm, in my experience for sales stuff you need a card. There's no real way around it. And that's only halfway there, the real thing is when you make the other party take a picture of the card, or .. if you ask their email and send them a hello with your signature containing your info. (Yes, it's awkward, seems dumb, but works exactly because the effort the other party put into it. Just taking a card and putting it next to the other taken cards is just a one-way stop-shop to a dead lead - IMHO.) Decorator guy? Just type it into your phone. Or send yourself an email with call decorator guy, Tim, [number]. or something. Sure, maybe there will be some amazing system/solution/app that does this. (Technically it's easy. For example you can just fire up a Bluetooth BLE beacon - eg. a Eddystone URL one. You can switch broadcasting on/off with a toggle. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.alea.beaconsimulator&hl=en https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.alea.beaco... And others can scan for them easily.) But it seems to me the biggest hurdle is simply that people don't want that. They want maximal certainty that they get the info from the person they are actually talking to. (NFC could help with that.) ... and let's say a trade show can start with everyone setting up their contact app. And I think some already do this. (Some already hand out name tags after all.)
  - toyg 6y ago
    > for sales stuff you need a card. [...] And that's only halfway there That's precisely my point. At the moment that interaction is all half-broken and unreliable, it takes time, it's awkward and error-prone (the bar is loud, the sun is shining, whatever). If we could just whip out a phone and do something quick like shaking it at each other, we'd all be better off. I agree that NFC is likely the way forward for this.
    - pas 6y ago
      The problem is, whatever tech we come up with, it'll need a "social protocol" (just as every cryptosystem needs a human element and it has to be factored in during security analysis). And right now you can just give your phone to Decorator Tim with his/her name prefilled and with no numbers, and Tim will likely just type their number. Yeey, success! Sure it would be easier to just wave your phone, show a "contact request" logo/hand-sign, but we're not there yet. And exactly because bars are loud, but garden parties are too sunny that we would need a very generic/adaptive solution. Currently it's simply solved by raw human wetware processing power, ingenuity and foresight (eg. in case of business cards). Yes, I think NFC is perfect for contacts, but it needs the social dance too. (Exactly because of the edge cases as in how do you easily accept/reject it if you can't see the screen?)

by pas 6y ago

toyg 6y ago

> Email Awkward to spell and to remember, unless you write it right there and then and get the other to proofread it. You also get a single piece of information, not even a full name. > QR code Pretty uncommon where I live (Northern UK), particularly outside geeky circles. > take a photo of the email address This is occasionally done but it's annoying (you have to transcribe it later) and again is unlikely to carry any other data like the guy's name. > Or call the other one to confirm that you've typed the correct number It takes time out of the conversation to proofread the contact name as you save it, and you're then lacking email - yeah you can get it with a phone call, which is already pretty awkward ("can I call you to send you an email to organise a call"), and again spelling an email over the phone is pretty bad and error-prone. > worst case, you can just hand out a paper business card. That's what I do, but apart from the environmental impact, you then have to print and store a bunch of cards and every time you change job it takes weeks (or months) to get new ones (and cringe at their design). Dunno, maybe I'm more sensitive to this because my name is difficult to spell for English people, but I do wish I could avoid having to drag with me stacks of thick paper. > Are there examples where bump/shake would be really that useful? Trade shows, sales events, all the way to going to a bar and it turns out some guy is a decorator you might call on.

pas 6y ago
> Trade shows, sales events, all the way to going to a bar and it turns out some guy is a decorator you might call on. Hm, in my experience for sales stuff you need a card. There's no real way around it. And that's only halfway there, the real thing is when you make the other party take a picture of the card, or .. if you ask their email and send them a hello with your signature containing your info. (Yes, it's awkward, seems dumb, but works exactly because the effort the other party put into it. Just taking a card and putting it next to the other taken cards is just a one-way stop-shop to a dead lead - IMHO.) Decorator guy? Just type it into your phone. Or send yourself an email with call decorator guy, Tim, [number]. or something. Sure, maybe there will be some amazing system/solution/app that does this. (Technically it's easy. For example you can just fire up a Bluetooth BLE beacon - eg. a Eddystone URL one. You can switch broadcasting on/off with a toggle. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.alea.beaconsimulator&hl=en https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.alea.beaco... And others can scan for them easily.) But it seems to me the biggest hurdle is simply that people don't want that. They want maximal certainty that they get the info from the person they are actually talking to. (NFC could help with that.) ... and let's say a trade show can start with everyone setting up their contact app. And I think some already do this. (Some already hand out name tags after all.)
- toyg 6y ago
  > for sales stuff you need a card. [...] And that's only halfway there That's precisely my point. At the moment that interaction is all half-broken and unreliable, it takes time, it's awkward and error-prone (the bar is loud, the sun is shining, whatever). If we could just whip out a phone and do something quick like shaking it at each other, we'd all be better off. I agree that NFC is likely the way forward for this.
  - pas 6y ago
    The problem is, whatever tech we come up with, it'll need a "social protocol" (just as every cryptosystem needs a human element and it has to be factored in during security analysis). And right now you can just give your phone to Decorator Tim with his/her name prefilled and with no numbers, and Tim will likely just type their number. Yeey, success! Sure it would be easier to just wave your phone, show a "contact request" logo/hand-sign, but we're not there yet. And exactly because bars are loud, but garden parties are too sunny that we would need a very generic/adaptive solution. Currently it's simply solved by raw human wetware processing power, ingenuity and foresight (eg. in case of business cards). Yes, I think NFC is perfect for contacts, but it needs the social dance too. (Exactly because of the edge cases as in how do you easily accept/reject it if you can't see the screen?)