ChipIn: Collect Money Online
One of my dear friends has cancer and is going through very painful and challenging radiation and chemo. I wanted to raise a little money to help her family, and I discovered ChipIn, a simple little widget that allows you to ask your network to… well… ChipIn!
ChipIn doesn’t charge you anything for the service, but the money is routed through PayPal (you need a free account), and they take out 2.9% plus $.30 per transaction.
ChipIn is great for raising money for friends like Rebecca, but it would also work if you’re asking staffers to pitch in for a Christmas party or the like. It’s important to note that ChipIn donations are not necessarily tax deductible, unless, I guess, they’ve been set up by the charity.
Wanna see how it works? ChipIn a couple of bucks for Rebecca to find out!
CardMunch: Free Card-Scanning App
by Beth on April 25, 2011
in Beth Favorite, Free, Smartphone
My husband and I often lose our battle to keep the dining room table clean because of the dozens and dozens of business cards that pile up. We know we need to put them somewhere, but they have no real home and they end up cluttering up our living areas.
Sure, you can buy an iPhone app that scans the card, but you have to double check everything, and it ends up being a pain. And there are several card-scanning businesses out there that will input your business cards, but it’ll cost you $10 and up a month.
But the other day I discovered an amazing free tool that will bring order back to our home. Like other iPhone card management apps, CardMunch lets you take a picture of the card. But the difference is that the picture is transmitted to an actual person who checks the data and sends accurate contact information back to your phone.
It’s free thanks to LinkedIn, who bought the service and did away with the pricing. Thus, it has a one-button system to allow you to request a LinkedIn connection, plus other features let you send emails, download your entire contact list and integrate your contacts with your iPhone address book.
contxts: Mobile Business Cards
by Beth on April 12, 2011
in Beth Favorite, Free, Mac, PC
I attend a lot of conferences, and inevitably I end up talking to an interesting person who says, “Here, let me give you my card…. oh dear! I seem to have left them in my….”
Contxts solves this problem in an instant. In about 2 minutes, you can set up an account for a virtual business card. Then all you need to do is give your new friend a code to text to 50500, and she instantly has your information. Or you can get her mobile number and send your card to her. It’s easy!
Try it out! Text “AskBethZ” (without the quotations) to 50500 and be one of the first to discover my super secret new home for these tools!
contxts – mobile sms business cards.
