Over the last few weeks, Google Voice has finally begun sending out invites to the throngs of people who have signed up since the service stopped accepting new users in 2007, following its acquisition. But now that all of these people are beginning to experience the wonders of Google Voice, they’re also running into its biggest roadblock: in order to be effective, you need everyone to start calling your new number. And that means you need to print new business cards. In recognition of this fact, Google is giving away 50,000 sets of 25 free Google Voice business cards, printed by iPrint. If you’ve got a Google Voice account, you can grab a set here.
The multicolored cards are definitely going to catch the eye of anyone you hand them to, and they also do a great job at highlighting the most important thing on the card: your new number. And while you may not be too keen to have everyone start calling you rather than using Email (which is going to be one of the side effects), you can always take advantage of Google Voice’s automatic voicemail transcription.
Of course, there’s a good chance that none of this will be necessary once Google Voice introduces number portability, which would let you keep your current number and transfer it to the service. We’ve previously confirmed that a very small number of people have already been able to port their numbers over, and that Google hopes to roll it out later this year, though the logistical hurdles involved are huge.
This isn’t the first time Google has given away free business cards in honor of a new product launch. In May the search giant gave away free sets of cards to commemorate the launch of the inclusion of Google Profiles in search results (the cards instruct people to simply ‘Google’ your name). They’re definitely great keepsakes, but I’ve got to be honest — every person I’ve handed one to has given me a really strange look.
Thanks to Jeff Martens for the tip.
Are they already gone? Or how do I get them?
same here.
After logging in, I see an image on the bottom left of the page, telling me that I can “Show off [my] Google number.” (https://www.goo...print_promo.png)
All this is great, but only makes it “slightly less irritating” like it’s so well said in the post title!
The more annoying part is not actually having to print new business cards (thanks for the free ones), but the fact of having to give them out too the old business contacts and acquiantances who still have out old ones.
In this day & age, a “static” business card doesn’t make sense anymore when we can have dynamic ones that automatically give every person who had our old number access to our new one! The best place for that so far is http://www.avakit.com
Should be helpful at least until the number portability option picks up.
The website you linked isn’t working – it says its an invalid offer.
You have to click the link in your Google Voice dashboard. iPrint checks to make sure you were actually referred by Google.
I must be blind, but where is the link to get them?
Should be here:
https://www.goo...ce/promo/iprint
I think the invite page is down, cause i tried a couple of times but it’s not opening for me.
I think the page is down, as I tried numerous times it did not work.
And finally i saw this message
Invalid Offer
We’re sorry but there is an issue with the path you are using to access this offer, please return to the original service in which you started this process and try again.
Thanks. It just showed up in GV for me. Though iPrint is really slow and keeps timing out…
you fail Jason.
Never.
I found it while logged into GV, at the bottom of the left sidebar.
iPrint is slow as hell right now, for what its worth.
Yeah it is. Too much traffic, it takes forever to load and then gives me an error message. (sigh)
Slow is no exaggeration, but I’m very slowly working my way through the process.
HA! Getting pounded, their servers are… It took me almost an hour to go through the process… type a letter… wait…. type a couple more… wait. All for the ugliest business card I’ve ever had in my life! Sweet.
The ordering process is slower than the economic turnaround.
And iprint goes down/slows to a crawl !
“We’re sorry but there is an issue with the path you are using to access this offer, please return to the original service in which you started this process and try again.”
ditto
You need to click the link in your own Google Voice dashboard. They check the referrer
Tried that too… Seems google has removed the link now altogether!!
Are they out already? It is slow as hell.
Looks like google should choose a different printing vendor if they are taking this seriously. Wouldn’t it just make more sense to get the portability issue solved first?
Last time Google gave out free biz cards from iPrint – to promote Google profiles, mine came printed with ‘Your name here.’ Brilliant.
looks like the world-dominating machine that is Google killed the site. great job Eric!
The author (unless he already did so or doesn’t care) should edit the phone number showed on the card. The cards show your google voice number though the setup process…
I got the free Google cards they offered with the Profiles launch…..
The first time I gave one to someone, they looked at it, looked at me, raised an eyebrow quizzically, and commented, “I’m not sure its appropriate for you to be giving people a card that has your name above the phrase ‘I’m feeling lucky’,”
Okay . . . it’s painfully slow
If you guys want the handshakes to disappear, shouldn’t business cards be out of the picture too? I think they are quite antique. Who REALLY needs them nowadays?
Goofy as it may sound, I like this idea
And 35 minuets later . . .
“Thank you for creating your Google number card on iPrint.com. A confirmation email will be sent to you shortly.”
Well that only took 45 minutes. Awesome.
I just ordered new cards with my new number. I’d rather have my branded cards than a generic Google one.
Still, it’s a nice giveaway to not only promote the service, but to ease the transition for users.
And are we still using the (000) format for area codes? Isn’t the idea of an area code preceding the rest of the number sort of dead? It’s just one big number nowadays.
000-000-0000
Wow… I can’t get on at all. Keeps telling me I followed an “invalid path”.
Hopefully these are printed on a nice stock. Satin finish from 4×6 is my personal favorite!
Still receiving error message.
Invalid Offer
We’re sorry but there is an issue with the path you are using to access this offer, please return to the original service in which you started this process and try again.
try going through your GoogleVoice account. They put a little ad in the left sidebar of your dashboard.
Its really lagging big time.
All, the promotion seems to be victim of it own success. We’re working with iPrint to bring it back up soon.
Thx
Vincent
Thanks for the heads up, Vincent!
I see the potential in GV but it stinks telling everyone you have a new number and the VM transcription service is almost worthless. I’m interested to see how it evolves.
I got to the tool to configure the card but it’s been building the card now for 20 minutes….
is it over?
Seems google has removed the link now altogether!!
done! it worked.
I just clicked “continue” and followed the prompts. Order placed!
I tried to get some, but doesn’t seem like it’s up there anymore. I keep getting this”
” Not Found
The requested URL was not found on this server.”
I wonder what’s going on with them. http://ziggytek.com/
Finally got it, took just under an hour.
It is painfully slow, but I found that the iprint site works best in IE.
You can get to it from your Google Voice dashboard. Don’t use the link in the article, it is dead link. The GV link is on the left hand side below all the nav links.
Just remember to save your card design first before you click the continue button or else you have to enter all the information again.
No link on my dashboard
Is there any way around the whole “Please wait while Google Voice connects you?” I am hesitant to move my business line over to Google Voice because that intro seems a bit unprofessional at this point.
“(the cards instruct people to simply ‘Google’ your name)”
Why did you put Google in quotation marks? Google is a verb, remember?
‘Google Voice is not available in your country’ is the message I got after logging-in in this central African country.
GV is yet to grow!
MM
I’m not seeing the link through GVoice. Is it gone now?
From a GV employee on Twitter:
had to turn off the biz card promotion: too many requests!, our partner got overloaded! Will bring it back shortly. bear with us! Thx!
If they’re anything like the previous free Google cards, these will suck. Such low quality, I couldn’t even give them out or keep them as a novelty. They reflect badly on Google and using iPrint – folks will assume all iPrint stuff is this bad. You get what you pay for.
This is great information! We signed up for the waiting list for Google Voice and just got our invite last week.
Its nice to see google is offering 25 free business cards, but who seriously uses only 25… I go through that many a week. Very nice gesture though.
Google Voice business cards, cool idea. Combine this while using Google Voice for business – http://www.on-s...all-center.html
Is that the only design option? Because it looks amazingly bad.
The link isn’t working and it’s not on my dashboard! NOOOO!
Yup…no more invites, it would seem….
The graphic suprised me, it’s only one digit away from my GV #. Shout out to whomever that number belongs too, wondering if you are also in Hillsboro, Oregon.
I just pointed my 800 number to Google Voice; that solved the problem for me!
I was able to order the cards tonight!
I think that’s a genius idea on Google’s part. They also did it with the new Google Profile program. Check it out on my blog- searchschwag.com