Flickr Minicards
When Max Cook (aka maxedaperture) joined the DC Metblogs team the prominance of photography on this site stepped up a few notches. Many of us also use Flickr to host our pics (as do thousands of others), which is the source of the images you see in the sidebar. Even our visitors can add pictures to the sidebar simply by creating a Flickr account, joining the Metroblogging Washington DC group, and dragging and dropping their favorites into the pool.
If you enjoy Flickr, I recommend getting a pro account. For a dirt-cheap $20 you get a full year of unlimited uploads (free accounts are bandwidth throttled). They also have a printing service (so far only for users in the US).
Moo is a really slick new third-party Web site that just went live yesterday. With it you can create personal/business cards that have selected images on one side, and up to five lines of information on the other. For just $20 you can get a pack of cards with 100 images, and pro users can get a 10-pack for free. And I mean free, as in you don’t even have to pay for shipping.
The interface is incredibly easy to use. Again, to select images you just drag and drop them and then you can move (crop), resize, and rotate them for a best fit. When done, you add the lines of text you’d like on the back of the cards, including your (optional) avatar. Finally, you submit your payment details (unless you’re trying the free 10-pack).
Check it out.
That’s great – I just posted about these too last night – saw them on Boing Boing and already ordered! :)
I ran across the site via plasticbag.org, but I hear that everyone is linking to them and for about an hour yesterday they were overwhelmed with traffic.
I just ordered my set as well, all of DC’s monuments!
OMG, this is EXACTLY what I’ve been looking for. Where has this been all my life? I just ordered 200 cards. So excited….
Thanks for the props, Doug! The Moo service looks pretty cool but I don’t know what I’d do with the cards. I have business cards that usually end up getting mashed in my pocket and I’m embarrassed to hand them out.
Ya’ll might want to check out this site too for some fun Flickr goodies:
http://flagrantdisregard.com/flickr/
Your work is really inspiring Max, you deserve the props. FlickrNation is another interesting site, and of course Flickr also has their own blog.
This is awesome! I just ordered my free 10-pack for passing out cards at baseball games!
…don’t know what you’d do with the cards? You keep your business cards in your pocket and not in a business card case? What do you do when you meet people who you want to be able to contact you later? Write your number on their hand? ;)
For Max, they would make great personal cards which also promote his photography. My 2ยข anyway…
Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s a cool idea. I just know myself all too well and know that I won’t be carrying around a business card case (along with my cell phone, smokes, house keys, car key, lighter…). Who knows, maybe I’ll break down and order some. At $20 it’s hard to go wrong.
Sounds like you need a manbag. ;-)
I need a manbag like I need an iPod. ;-)
Doug makes an excellent point- if your photography is something you aim to promote, this is an ideal way to do it.
Also, being that I am becoming sort of a networking evangelist, I am compelled to say that everyone should have some sort of easy way of distributing their contact information in a face-to-face manner. You seriously never know when you’ll meet someone who you want to remember you, whether they want to pay you a bunch of money for photography, or someone who can get your buddy a job, or just some cute girls at a bar. What you don’t want is to become just a fuzzy memory associated with a cell phonebook entry or a washed-out scrap of paper in the pocket of the pants that just came out of the dryer. Instead, be the guy who is prepared with a totally memorable little taste of his photographic talents. ;)
In other words, carrying cards is a habit worth developing. Oooh! You could get one of those double-sided cigarette cases and keep cards in one side, smokes in the other. Those things? Hot. :D
And a martini, shaken not stirred? Jesh. ;-)
It’s okay if you don’t carry business cards Max, we’ll still like you even if you are a freak. Now that Internet Explorer use.. that’s gotta stop.
Uh oh. Say it’s not true! Wayan, you’re a crazy Firefox user too? What is the world coming to?
Uh oh, I think someone is trying to hack into my computer as I type this comment! I hope my browser doesn’t crash while I’m typing!
Crazy like a fox.