CloudContacts Turns Business Cards Into 'Cloud' Cards

Even in this Facebook-LinkedIn-Twitter-ified world, business cards are a fact of life. Have you ever managed to escape a trade show or business meeting without a pocketful of new ones? (If so, count yourself lucky.)

CloudContacts saves you the hassle of manually processing business cards. The service turns your cards into Web-savvy data that you can view online, integrate with CRM apps like SalesForce, and connect with social-media sites like Facebook and LinkedIn. (You can also export the contacts to Outlook or another desktop app.)

How do the cards get from your desk to your, um, cloud? Two options: You can ship a batch through the mail or take pictures with your camera/phone and upload them.

Pricing for the postal option starts at $29.95 for up to 100 cards. If you go the e-mail route, pricing starts at $4.95 monthly (for 20 cards per month) or $49.95 annually.

I'm honestly not convinced this is a better option than, say, a business-card scanner, or just manually typing the info into Outlook or whatever. That can't be any more time-consuming than snapping photos of each card (and making sure they're in focus), uploading them, and so on.

On the other hand, CloudContacts might be just the thing for busy executives who don't have time to deal with cards but do want the information transcribed and absorbed.