Overview
Managing professional contacts has always been inefficient; it involves collecting numerous business cards that are
unsearchable and difficult to organize. There are existing smart phone apps and card scanners on the market today
that seek to address this problem, but they focus on creating digital address books. People I Know (PiK) takes this
concept a step further. Rather than simply organizing contacts in alphabetical order, PiK will provide a platform
with which professionals can organize and track their business contacts through a versatile, personalized, and
private server. Additionally, with the onset of online networking, professional networking has become increasingly
mechanical and impersonal. It is not unusual to see strangers connecting with each other on Facebook or LinkedIn
without having ever met in person. PiK seeks to introduce a new method of networking that stays true to the
time-tested business card model while enhancing it with technology. Users will be able to easily transfer contact
information, as well as store the “context” in which they met their contacts. PiK will change how professionals
approach networking and make the stack of business cards sitting on your desk obsolete.
unsearchable and difficult to organize. There are existing smart phone apps and card scanners on the market today
that seek to address this problem, but they focus on creating digital address books. People I Know (PiK) takes this
concept a step further. Rather than simply organizing contacts in alphabetical order, PiK will provide a platform
with which professionals can organize and track their business contacts through a versatile, personalized, and
private server. Additionally, with the onset of online networking, professional networking has become increasingly
mechanical and impersonal. It is not unusual to see strangers connecting with each other on Facebook or LinkedIn
without having ever met in person. PiK seeks to introduce a new method of networking that stays true to the
time-tested business card model while enhancing it with technology. Users will be able to easily transfer contact
information, as well as store the “context” in which they met their contacts. PiK will change how professionals
approach networking and make the stack of business cards sitting on your desk obsolete.
Product Description
The professional world still revolves around the old-fashioned business card model and has lagged behind in
integrating into the online network. PiK is a product focused on providing a solution to a very personal problem
using a popular technology: QR codes. PiK is composed of two platforms, one web-based and the other app-
based, that helps the user manage and digitize professional contacts. Using QR codes printed on business cards,
the user can easily access contact information and download it into the PiK app and online database. This contact
information will take the form of a digital business card. The user can also choose to save contact information into
their phone address book. Users who do not have a smart phone can access the PiK profile link on the business card
and connect with other professionals using the web-based program.
Both the web-based platform and smart phone app allow the user to sign in using LinkedIn, directly pulling contact
and background information from their profile. The user can then edit their information to include more personalized
information, since PiK profiles cannot be viewed without either the QR code or profile link. Having set up their
profiles, the user can take advantage of the unique functions of PiK: organizing existing contacts and providing
“context” for new ones. PiK will automatically organize your contacts into groups that the user defines. The user
can then view business cards within a specific group with a “flip through” view that simulates the real business card
experience. Under each business card view, PiK will track any communications the user may have had with their
contact, as well as suggest other contacts the user knows who have similar backgrounds with the contact they are
viewing. During networking events, PiK will tag contacts made during the event with geographical location. After
the event, the user can drag and drop groups of contacts into user-defined events if they choose to do so. They can
also add notes about the person they met by “flipping” their contact’s business card. The basic functionalities of the
app-based platform and web-based platform will be the same, and users can access their contact database through
both sites. The app-based platform, however, will be able to facilitate an easy transfer of contacts between users
using QR codes.
integrating into the online network. PiK is a product focused on providing a solution to a very personal problem
using a popular technology: QR codes. PiK is composed of two platforms, one web-based and the other app-
based, that helps the user manage and digitize professional contacts. Using QR codes printed on business cards,
the user can easily access contact information and download it into the PiK app and online database. This contact
information will take the form of a digital business card. The user can also choose to save contact information into
their phone address book. Users who do not have a smart phone can access the PiK profile link on the business card
and connect with other professionals using the web-based program.
Both the web-based platform and smart phone app allow the user to sign in using LinkedIn, directly pulling contact
and background information from their profile. The user can then edit their information to include more personalized
information, since PiK profiles cannot be viewed without either the QR code or profile link. Having set up their
profiles, the user can take advantage of the unique functions of PiK: organizing existing contacts and providing
“context” for new ones. PiK will automatically organize your contacts into groups that the user defines. The user
can then view business cards within a specific group with a “flip through” view that simulates the real business card
experience. Under each business card view, PiK will track any communications the user may have had with their
contact, as well as suggest other contacts the user knows who have similar backgrounds with the contact they are
viewing. During networking events, PiK will tag contacts made during the event with geographical location. After
the event, the user can drag and drop groups of contacts into user-defined events if they choose to do so. They can
also add notes about the person they met by “flipping” their contact’s business card. The basic functionalities of the
app-based platform and web-based platform will be the same, and users can access their contact database through
both sites. The app-based platform, however, will be able to facilitate an easy transfer of contacts between users
using QR codes.