Cherry Hill, New Jersey, June 1, 1998 - A tried and true business practice gets a new spin with WebCardz, the cyberspace business card. Just as a business or personal card is offered to a new acquaintance as an introduction or snapshot of your business, a WebCardz can be sent through email to accomplish the same goal. Developed by World Wide Web Communications, Inc. of Cherry Hill, NJ, the web site for WebCardz at www.webcardz.com opens to the public on June 1, 1998.

Press

Business Cards Come to Virtual Life on the World Wide Web

Cherry Hill, New Jersey, June 1, 1998 – A tried and true business practice gets a new spin with WebCardz, the cyberspace business card. Just as a business or personal card is offered to a new acquaintance as an introduction or snapshot of your business, a WebCardz can be sent through email to accomplish the same goal. Developed by World Wide Web Communications, Inc. of Cherry Hill, NJ, the web site for WebCardz at www.webcardz.com opens to the public on June 1, 1998. Easy to use, personalized and distinctive, WebCardz can be used anytime electronic communication is utilized. This revolutionary new cyber-product will be offered free to anyone with World Wide Web access simply by completing a registration form online.

Robert H Savar, President of World Wide Web Communications, Inc. has formed a new company, WebCardz International, LLC, to produce and market WebCardz. “Certainly we didn’t invent WebCardz to compete with or replace web sites,” says Savar, “but the truth is that for many online businesses WebCardz are actually more useful and effective than web sites. I’m tempted to coin the expression: WebCardz – better than a web site.”

Enhances Cyber Commerce
The growth of business to business e-commerce ($600 million in 1996) is expected to reach $66.5 billion in the year 2000, with consumer-retail revenue reaching $7.2 billion. As communication of proposals, general correspondence, prospecting and other types of business transactions are accomplished through the Internet, savvy email communicators have begun looking for ways to create a memorable identity with the recipients of their messages.

WebCardz promises to create that identity and revolutionize the way people communicate using the World Wide Web. Instead of waiting patiently for hits to a web site, the WebCardz user can be pro-active and send the WebCardz directly to the person who is intended to see it. On a WebCardz the sender’s name, address, email, and telephone number is immediately visible along with a colorful, dynamic graphic.

For businesses operating on the Internet, WebCardz offer a variety of unique marketing features. First of all, on each WebCardz there is an active link to the WebCardz owner’s email address allowing the recipient to send an email reply back to the sender simply by clicking on the envelope (icon) positioned on the WebCardz. Secondly, if the WebCardz owner has a web site, it can be included as an active link on the WebCardz so that the recipient can simply click on the URL to access the sender’s web site.

WebCardz provide increased accessibility and exposure for business users because they can be stored in an address book like a rolodex and accessed easily by anyone who has received your WebCardz. Equally valuable is the searchable WebCardz Member Directory at www.webcardz.com where anyone can easily find WebCardz owners.

In the Cyber Community
On a personal level, the digital revolution is redefining how we perceive our relationships within communities. Communities can now be defined not only by physical proximity, but electronic proximity as well. Those separated from family or friends by physical distances or capabilities exchange and seek information via email. Clubs and social organizations use email as a way to keep current with issues that unite them. Oftentimes a more visual way of communicating the personality, hobby or profession of the sender would add to that communication.

Using WebCardz in email adds an element of fun and establishes a unique identity for the user. While not everyone needs or can afford a web site, everyone can now have a presence on the web free simply by signing up and choosing a favorite card design (theme). Surfers, motorcyclists, lawyers, teachers, dentists – and dozens of other occupations, hobbies, sports, schools, organizations, etc. – are represented with their own characteristic WebCardz themes. “Everyone who has seen them loves them,” beams Savar, “they’re very similar to real business cards in that they tell a story about you. Email them to friends, business associates or business prospects. There is no limit to the number of times you can send them, and you can update or change them whenever you want.”

What exactly are WebCardz and how do they work?
WebCardz is a new Internet application that combines the functionality of an email with the impact of a web site. It is a virtual business card or personal card that looks and feels like a web site except that it is sent from one person to another in the message area of an email.

The company currently offers three types of WebCardz.

  1. Custom WebCardz: These are FREE! They are suitable for individuals and businesses and can be created “on the fly” by completing a simple online registration form.
  2. Premium WebCardz: These are suitable for individuals and businesses. But unlike Custom WebCardz, they are personalized with logos, photographs and/or icons and are not created “on the fly.”
  3. Premium+ WebCardz: These are suitable for companies, schools, organizations and non-profits that want a Premium WebCardz for its members or employees.

Marketing Opportunities
WebCardz International, LLC is currently negotiating with other major Internet companies to share in the unique marketing opportunities built into the WebCardz process. For example, each person registering for a WebCardz is required to fill out a form that reveals extensive demographic information. Companies marketing products or services online covet this kind of data. Another strategy being utilized is the ability to determine the number of times each WebCardz is accessed and in which browser. These statistics provide invaluable information for advertisers.

“Every WebCardz in circulation resides on our server so we have the ability to edit them from our office – millions at a time,” explained Savar. ” If an advertiser wants its logo on millions of WebCardz, we can do it. If a company wants to promote an event, we can put the information on the WebCardz. If a travel agent wants to advertise only to people who live in California, we can include the information on WebCardz owned by Californians. If a company wants to market its goods or services only to people who earn more than $50,000 per year, we can put the message on their WebCardz. The possibilities are endless.”

If you haven’t noticed, in the bottom right hand corner of each WebCardz, strategically placed, there is the WebCardz logo that says ‘Get your…WebCardz’. This links back to the WebCardz home page so people who receive a WebCardz can easily obtain one for themselves. “This strategy is self-serving,” admits Savar. “When people see them they naturally want one. We’re just making it easy for them. Perhaps some day everyone will have his or her own WebCardz. Wouldn’t that be great?”

Yes, Bob, it would.
Media Contact
Robert H Savar
World Wide Web Communications, Inc.
856-482-2424 x 11
bsavar@wwwcomm.com
www.wwwcomm.com