14 DAY TRIAL // Universal Serial Bus storage devices usually take the same type of role as their peers, that of storing various files in their own data banks. A new startup company, however, has come up with a new way to use the technology.
Behold the swivelCard. Essentially, it is a business card that also doubles as a flash drive unit with unlimited storage capacity.
Admittedly, the card doesn't really have unlimited storage capabilities. Indeed, it has very little actual storage itself, despite how amazing it is that a USB drive was printed on mere paper.
However, the way it works essentially circumvents that limitation by swapping onboard storage for online one.
The card does have some on-board capacity, but it's solely dedicated to directing people to online materials about yourself, like videos, photos, and written works.
Those online materials you will have to keep updating on your own, whenever you feel like it. It's basically giving potential employers or employees, or just friends, access to an always up to date personal profile.
Each swivelCard has a unique ID that can be individually programmed. Once the card is plugged into a USB port (you have to fold it in its own, distinctive manner to get it in the appropriate shape), it will open any web page you have programmed it to.
You can change what page the card points to, even after you've given it to someone and never got to be within reach of it ever again. All the data is stored on the web, which led to the “unlimited capacity” attribute mentioned previously.
The crowd-funding campaign on Kickstarter gave the example of connecting the card to a Dropbox account, or to a desktop sharing application. Possibilities will never be too few.
The swivelCard also has a backend interface. Once you've given a card away, you can log into the interface from anywhere and see where in the world the card has ended up (based on where it was used last time). And if a smart device doesn't have a USB port, no matter! There's a QR code on the back too.
The creators of swivelCard hoped to raise $10,000 / €7,500 to fund the item, but the goal has already been exceeded by a fair bit. A set of 200 cards costs $259 / €193. There were smaller packs, but they've all been claimed already, alas. We've included the intro video below for your convenience.
