My Dot wristband makes sharing links and contacts easier

A young woman was demoing drinks at a local vendor, where a friend works, when she stopped me. She told me I looked great. She was impressed by my physique and by what I was wearing, including my chains, and she really liked my style. So I said maybe we should go out sometime. I held up my wristband and said, "Tap here."

She touched her phone to my wristband, and everything popped up on her screen: my social media, my website, articles I've written, my bookstore. Later she filled out the contact card, and I got an email about it. I had her number, I texted her, and we made plans to go on a date.

The wristband is a Dot, one of the virtual business cards that have basically replaced paper ones. Mine has a near field communication tag you can tap with a phone, plus a built-in QR code you can scan. Dot also sells physical cards in plastic or metal, and stickers, small plastic discs you can put on the back of your phone or other places.

What opens is a page that looks a lot like Linktree. You could technically build something similar yourself, since you can generate a QR code for any link. Dot just beat a lot of companies to the jump, though I've seen several others doing this now. I have no paid, affiliate or other business relationship with the company.

On that page is a button that says exchange contact. The other person touches it, fills out whatever information they want me to have and hits send, and I get an email or a text about it. It releases a lot of friction: no opening up your device, no typing your phone number. It stops me from having to explain everything, no matter what the networking is for.

I wear branded shirts that say World Reading Club on the back, and people ask me about them. World Reading Club is my website, where you can read things I've written, browse a PDF library and find links to my bookstores to buy my books from Amazon or Bookspace. There have been so many of those conversations that it's hard to count.

I also do part-time gig work doing security and staff work for events. At one event I was made the lead security person, and a couple of guys were on site with me. There are other events coming up where I can call on people to work with me, so I had them tap. Each one filled out the contact card, I got the email and I downloaded their contacts into my phone. They're on my roster now to hire for future events.

I knew about Dot before I owned one. They've been doing really good marketing, and I'd seen the cards all over the place. People trust other people they see with a product, and that can be more persuasive than just seeing the ads.

I'd already been networking with a friend when he finally got his Dot and showed it to me. The same day, I ordered mine.