I’ve made no secret about my disdain for business cards. In an age where we can swap photographs and movies in a matter of seconds wirelessly, why are we still fumbling with clumsy pieces of paper that are both easy to lose and environmentally unfriendly? Today, it looks like I might be eating my words (or, as the case may be, yours).
Enter MeatCards. Two weeks ago a number of blogs caught wind of this bizarre and potentially amazing creation, bringing meat and lasers together to create the most protein-rich business cards ever. Some thought it was a hoax. But it’s very real.
I reached out to the guys behind MeatCards, and as luck would have it they were preparing for their first run of prototype cards (styled after the design from American Psycho, of course). So I sent in my information, and they printed out the prototype seen above. In the interest of preserving a shred of privacy, I’m blurred out a few digits from my phone number, Email, and our mailing address. But most of the text, like my name and the TechCrunch information in the upper right hand corner, hasn’t been touched. Obviously the laser etching isn’t quite perfect, but it mostly gets the job done. More samples below.
I haven’t receieved my MeatCards yet, and thus have been unable to taste the goods for myself. But I have been assured that they should in theory be edible, albeit with a strange laser-burnt aftertaste. That said, the guys behind MeatCards seem to be interested in finding a way to mark the cards with “Do Not Eat” to make it clear that they don’t want you to eat them – it just opens them up to too many possible legal problems and regulations. But they can’t stop you from doing it.
So when can you order one for yourself? The product is still in the testing stages, but according to its homepage they should be going on sale some time soon. Make sure to check out this awesome Flickr set to see how it’s done.
And for a more conventional business card, check out the cards Google is currently giving away.
I bet your dog will be very interested in these business cards.
Well, I have always known it takes a ‘pound of flesh’ to get a sit down with Michael Arrington, but this is just too awesome.
I wonder if they allow you to send in your own ass-fat for printing? That way your clients can check up on you with 43nme!
Daniel
https://Spideroak.com – Online Backup and Sync
@Daniel,
Do you have anything good to say other than linking your company, spideroak?
They are Whitney-quality.
Printing quality is so so. I would be interested if they find a way to work with some plant residues such as corn leaves. Would be bio degradable and vegan friendly, and might be prettier too.
How about fruit leather? That would be tasty.
It’s meat. I don’t think it matters if the ink is vegan friendly.
They mean the WHOLE card, not the ink. Learn to read.
A pleasure to meat you, here is my card.
Frickin’ disgusting!
Spoken like a true vegan.
Dried out body parts as business cards… yes, absolutely disgusting.
What was parchment back in the day?
Buck, OMG, you’re right — everything old is new again! Holy cow.
Next thing you know, we’ll find out that monks used magnifying glasses to burn letters into the parchment, and it’ll turn out that there’s three-thousand-year-old prior art for this idea!
hmm, I thought that paper was a renewable and biodegradable resource – well, so much for the cows.
Have meeting, receive Bacon!
Jason, you defiantly are the killer app of TC, just when I’m pissed of more TwitterCrunchivity, you save the day for me with this.
Keep keeping TC out of the box!
Thanks Dan. You can count on me for all of your laser/meat related startup news
Hindus won’t like this one bit.
What about turkey jerky?
Jokes aside, we tried lasering fruit leather. It works at first, but then the higher moisture content of the fruit leather “sucks” the singe marks back into the material. It’s pretty amazing, actually.
Hilarious. Except I would eat all my networking efforts and have to do it all over again.
what kind of laser did they use?
150 Watt CO2 Laser. I’d be lying if I said I knew what that meant, but it sounds fun.
just as expected. i worked for a similar shop and we also had CO2 printers
YO, Yu ! Vegan friendly ink on a chunk-o-meat?? I’m confused……
so technically in order to get to the point when you have your business card printed on a piece of meat (rising and feeding an animal, butchering it, additional processing steps to get meat to this point, then “printing” content over it using high-power eating specialize laser) is generally cheaper and more “ecological friendly” than cutting a tree (in the USA most trees are grown for paper and on the place of a cut one, a new is seeded, so this process is a wave – you always have the same amount to cut & seed), and printing content on it using recycled ink???
hm, I dont think so!! (but they look cool anyways! and you would definately think twice before throwing away a business card like that!)
Ha, no, there’s no way this is better for the environment. But it makes me rethink my dislike for business cards.
“… pieces of paper that are both easy to lose and environmentally unfriendly.”
With a beef jerky business card – I’m not sure it won’t be as easy to lose. I wouldn’t actually want to keep a piece of meat (dried up but oily?) in my wallet. As for it being environmentally friendly – how is it more environmentally friendly than paper? They are both biodegradable. Both involve cutting something down (paper: trees; beef jerky: cows) that cannot be used again after that. At the least I could still write behind a piece of paper and recycle it.
But yup, this would probably be memorable, though how long the fad and novelty will last is another thing.
I think that this would be more of a hit for social cards rather than business (unless you are a butcher).
Maybe an invite to a BBQ?
Well it’s a been a long time since I’ve thought about beef jerky. In a former life, I used to run marketing and sales for a Bay Area beef jerky manufacturer called Pacific Gold (sells in Costco). Having these business cards would have been too funny.
unsanitary
Shanan, we prefer the term “INsanitary”, thank you very much.
One of the most useless things I’ve ever seen, business cards are meant to be kept for future reference, not eaten.
“…business cards are MEAT to be kept for future reference…”
Fixed that for you
Hey, Jason, but do they have sharks with freakin’ laser beams on their heads making these business cards?
Might be popular in this bear economy
This is so cool….
Never seen any biz card like this before.
“Patrick Bateman”
You guys are funny
meatcards is one of the best innovations i’ve seen in years. partnership opportunity with someecards – i predict runaway success for somemeatcards.com.
can’t wait for meatcards on sticks.
sounds more like a @steakRIOT. Meat cards will most likely result in my dog raiding my wallet, therefore a useless means for future reference. Useless, but very amusing. Could make lasting impressions due to initial reactions.
I think these are more likely to be kept and less likely to get eaten by potential clients (especially the metal ones) http://www.plas...sinesscards.htm
This is pretty damn cool. I’m not gonna lie
Cadaver cards, Patrick Bateman, good link !
I want some that say I work for PETA.
Don’t bother with the Google cards. You go through the whole setup process and then they say that they’re all gone. So, they don’t tell you that until you’ve signed up and they have a new user and then they shaft you. They even won’t let you “complete” your profile until you’ve filled out enough info to their liking. They’ve got more money than God and can only afford to give out 250,000 cards?? The viral advertising isn’t worth even that?
flippin awesome idea. lvoe it.
rocksteady,
danno~
Going green was intended for less CO2.
Cows are the largest CO2 producers in the world.
The great meat business card concept increases the CO2 production.
[Some people are starving from hunger in this same world]
CO2 is not evil. Cows are not evil. You yourself produce CO2 every second of your life–well, I assume that last bit. You do exhale, don’t you? Yes, I’m sure of it.
Plants need CO2 to live, you know. Think of cows as being plant-friendly. They are part of the balance of nature. They belch. Grass grows. They eat the grass. Lovely cycle, eh!
CO2 IS SIMPLY A NATURAL GAS IN THE AIR! IT IS SUPPOSED TO BE THERE! AAAGGHHH! You people.
Really? That’s your argument? And you end it by being frustrated at others?
Your statement is asinine. Yes, CO2 is a gas. Yes, plants use CO2. But, when the balance you speak of is greatly thrown off by CO2 output heavy processes high Carbon Dioxide levels kill off plant matter and affects its ability to uptake ground water….not to even mention the greater over all environmental effects.
AAAGGHHH! You idiot.
But if they’re using a CO2 laser, it’s helping by using up the CO2…lol
We just got ours today, they are less yummmi but a lot sexier!
mmm this is a little unsettling, but I can see the possibilites! Like the link to American Pscyho
I dare anyone to carry one of these in their wallet for a year.
When will someone create the e-meat card?
How bizzare!
Have you thought of fruit roll up for the vegetarians out there?
We sure have! The moisture of fruit leather, though, means the scorching heals itself after a day or two. It’s eerie and awesome, and if you are a vegetarian I absolutely think you should add it to the list of reasons that fruit and veggies are superior: LASER-PROOF.
We’ll keep working on a veggie option, though.
Might not pass customs internationally – quarantine material
Once again TC is on the absolute (bleeding) edge of the tech universe. Not to say good taste, mind you.
If you all dislike bsuiness cards so much…why not check out dubmenow…they have a real cool product!
This is a crazy idea not sure how long they would last though?!
There are dozens of more creative cards here: http://creative..._designs_part_3
Pfff… nothing new really, it’s just another form of branding.
@Daniel
Stop spamming your ripoff of dropbox.
“hat said, the guys behind MeatCards seem to be interested in finding a way to mark the cards with “Do Not Eat””
They just wrote a business card on it… so just write do not eat on it via the same way??!?!
That said, what a pointless waste of food, and a total slap in the face to the animal who died so you may eat.
Pretty disgusting and pointless either way.
K, as one of the guys behind MeatCards, I have to say that I agree with you — if it’s not food anymore, then all we’re doing is converting meat to lulz. And I agree that is, at best, a waste.
Which is why we have a bunch of calls in to our local USDA office!
You dont have to be a vegi to respect life. I love meat, but I would not purchase this product, simply because its an insult to the animal that died so you might eat.
This will make an awful mess of my CardScan scanner.
I think we should all carry rubberstamps instead of biz cards and we can walk around stamping each other when we meet.
I’m torn – I like beef jerky, so I’d want to eat it, but then I wouldn’t remember the person. Or I might eat all of my cards before giving them out. So it really doesn’t make sense, but still, major “cool” factor. Props on actually getting readable text laser etched in meat. BTW how’d you get money to invest in this?
>> “BTW how’d you get money to invest in this?”
Oh, you know, we approached an investor and said “For first-round funding, we need $4.99 to buy a bag of beef jerky.”
Be great for my beef jerky business!
I can only think of a few trades where this card would be appropriate:
1) butcher
2) smokehouse
3) shoe salesman
4) polar explorer
The Light is Green!
Brilliant idea – should have thought of it myself. Rgds Vince