Business Cards....How do you handle them?

[Commander Truestar]

OK,

So we werer playing our face to face game this past Saturday and something really new came up.. As in I had never been faced with determining how I handled the concept in advanced societies.

So I figured I'd ask how others do

To lay the ground work, I have a thing called an "Ident Card" IMTU. It handles all the functions of personal identification, certifications, banking, passport, etc...

The average individual does not have one as tey live on world and never leave.

The rare traveler who does that one great adventure of their lifetime(s) [say on honeymoon, etc..] has one as a collector's item

Those who, for other reasons, make more than one, or many interstelar trips have one and are usd to it.

Average users or citizens can see the basic screens only, while the varying levels of authorities can see other screens based on the plug in device they use before accessing it. So a customs inspector can see those additional screens that might relate to their responsabilities. Special users can enter codes o activate certain other screens int he event the under cover agent needs to prove he is an under cover agent...


Given that, there is a point where you have your ident and do nto need ephemera like business cards. So it brought me up short when a female Character was sitting in a bar, was approached by an NPC and had so agreeable a time that she decided to exchange information with him. The player then asked me, "What do I do? Do I ask him for a card?" And me thinking, this system is advanced enough to hav gotten away from that IMO...what would they do?

We, as a group, discussed it and one of the other players suggested there be an in-built button that broadcasts the owner's contact data at a very short range so that two close range like devices can exchange that data subset on demand.

But once you get past a certain tech level, how do youhandle the concept of business cards?

Thanks in advance!

Marc

 

[stealth]

We use 'em!

IMTU a buiseness card holds contact data for the person, and you slide it through a card slot in your personal comm to make a network or P2P call.

Come to think of it, this is a little out-dated. In a TL-13 or so society, the card might as well be a flexible disposable video-phone....

 

[Commander Truestar]

IMTU a buiseness card holds contact data for the person, and you slide it through a card slot in your personal comm to make a network or P2P call.

And each person in a like-tech society would have a reader device to receive information with? Please explain this idea more?

Marc

 

[Sturn]

At highter TL's, I think persons would still carry some sort of small electronic device such as a PDA, unless you went cyberpunk (which is against the feel of Traveller) and made such a device internal (a small device in your thumb perhaps). So, in updating Traveller I would think some sort of very small PDA, perhaps a business card sized Iphone would be carried by many. One side (both?) is just a touch screen. It's your phone, scanner-video device, GPS, database, link to local networks, etc. If you meet someone and want to exchange digital business cards, it could be as simple as touching your cards together. Or, for more varification, you might have to touch your fingerprint to their screen, his to yours, to pass info between your devices. All of this is possible with current technology and electronic business cards are already common.

Stepping into the realm of cyberpunk and big brother could result in lots of this being done without an actual hand carried device. Subdermal modems, brainwaves able to contact local networks to make a computer send data to another person, etc. But, that kind of steps outside what many of us think about when considering 3rd Imperium Traveller.

 

[Magnus von Thornwood]

Well....

For one thing it would depend on the context of exchange, informal, possibly a special contact protocol, minimal information exchanged, more for formal, like you said, the thing is at TL-D you pretty much have the option of cybernetics being pretty common place, I mean why buy a separate piece of losable gear when you can get an comm.data.link implant and presto, life in the clouds of the net.

Actually have you considered that the person might not even make a conscious decision but in fact have an expert system (on a device if they are old fashion and don't have implants) that will do bio-scan/mood detections and such and spit out a customized .contact.data.pc.blah.links.for.bob.impnet.node.efate.social kinda thing.

I know sooooo helpful, huh? Sadly I am off to bed but had to take a poke at this and I hope that in my tired state I got the idea across.

 

[Commander Truestar]

At highter TL's, I think persons would still carry some sort of small electronic device such as a PDA, unless you went cyberpunk (which is against the feel of Traveller) and made such a device internal (a small device in your thumb perhaps). So, in updating Traveller I would think some sort of very small PDA, perhaps a business card sized Iphone would be carried by many. One side (both?) is just a touch screen. It's your phone, scanner-video device, GPS, database, link to local networks, etc. If you meet someone and want to exchange digital business cards, it could be as simple as touching your cards together. Or, for more varification, you might have to touch your fingerprint to their screen, his to yours, to pass info between your devices. All of this is possible with current technology and electronic business cards are already common.

Stepping into the realm of cyberpunk and big brother could result in lots of this being done without an actual hand carried device. Subdermal modems, brainwaves able to contact local networks to make a computer send data to another person, etc. But, that kind of steps outside what many of us think about when considering 3rd Imperium Traveller.

Ignoring internals for the moment, your ideas about touching devices or sending a data link from device to device(IMTU this is the "Ident Card") is what we agreed on. I was just wondering what different things other people came up with., but why break KISS huh?

Marc

 

[Commander Truestar]

For one thing it would depend on the context of exchange, informal, possibly a special contact protocol, minimal information exchanged, more for formal, like you said, the thing is at TL-D you pretty much have the option of cybernetics being pretty common place, I mean why buy a separate piece of losable gear when you can get an comm.data.link implant and presto, life in the clouds of the net.

Actually have you considered that the person might not even make a conscious decision but in fact have an expert system (on a device if they are old fashion and don't have implants) that will do bio-scan/mood detections and such and spit out a customized .contact.data.pc.blah.links.for.bob.impnet.node.efate.social kinda thing.

I know sooooo helpful, huh? Sadly I am off to bed but had to take a poke at this and I hope that in my tired state I got the idea across.

Nah, I do not wanna go too far with expert systems..

She is sitting alone after a play in a starport cafe and is joine by a slick but OK looking guy. they chat and she decides she likes him enough to trade info. That is a very (forgive the pun) touchy feely situation where expert systems can go off into never nver land and suddenly he has a drive full of her "special friends only" lingerie shots.....

Muhahahaha

Marc

 

[navanod]

...where expert systems can go off into never nver land and suddenly he has a drive full of her "special friends only" lingerie shots.....

Muhahahaha

Marc

More like a drive full of Viagra ads, Nigerian loan offers, and My Gold Envelope type crap. The scariest thing to me about implanted computer systems is the concept of them being able to put that junk in my head direct every day. Although if it only happened during fairly close contact, at least you'd know who to beat the crap out of....o:

 

[Vargas]

I'm thinking something like calling up all of the "hot spots" in proximity, selecting her ID (actual or handle) and your phones doing handshake to exchange contact info. Friends only lingerie shots optional.

 

[Vargas]

The scariest thing to me about implanted computer systems is the concept of them being able to put that junk in my head direct every day.

I'd be more afraid of directed EMP and computer viruses.

 

[G. Kashkanun Anderson]

More like a drive full of Viagra ads, Nigerian loan offers, and My Gold Envelope type crap. The scariest thing to me about implanted computer systems is the concept of them being able to put that junk in my head direct every day. Although if it only happened during fairly close contact, at least you'd know who to beat the crap out of....o:

Thanks. That first part made me literally LOL. And yes, I mean 'literally'. I think you also touched on one real good reason why we don't see too many deck-totin' cyborgs running around in Traveller space.

Then again, the Zhodani Nigerians don't need no stinkin' jacks to spam your brain...

 

[CosmicGamer]

First, I believe exchanging personal information in a bar is quite different from business cards providing more public information.
--
We are already quite a few tech levels beyond the business card but they still are quite common. I see no reason this has to change with even higher tech levels.

Some thoughts:
Perhaps it is cost. A few thousand business cards are pretty cheap to create.

Perhaps it is time. It probably will take longer for the two people to pull out their devices, open the proper apps, command them to send and receive, then check to verify the information was transmitted properly.

At any given tech level, what are the chances everyone will own and carry a device.

What is the chance that a device has compatibility with everyone else in their system let alone everyone else in another independently developed similar tech level system. And what about compatibility both forward and backwards a tech level or two.

Maybe a high tech device (beside providing GPS info so big brother can track you) can optionally transmit business information non stop, on demand by someone else, or only when initiated by the owner based on a configuration setting.

For those systems where the technology level is low or incompatible, the PDA, comm, or whatever could print out a business card on the spot.

In the opposite direction, you just take a scan or snapshot of someones 'traditional' business card and command your device to do a conversion to a contact entry.

Regarding providing personal info in a higher tech world, do people no longer have mouths and ears? Ok, maybe you are forgetful. I would think most devices can record info in a variety of formats (audio and video come to mind). All a person needs to do is provided the information (manually or via a device) You only need to provide a small piece of information (like a web site, email address, comm ID, or 'I'm in the book') and the recipient can access or request the rest.

 

[navanod]

I don't know - depending on how wired into your brain it is, EMP would be just like a normal hardware failure, and a virus would just make it glitchy. No big deal unless it's wired directly to the brain or nervous system. But, if it's something like an implanted chip with your ID that uses some kind of wireless system, spam might take on a whole new flavor. You get the girls contact info, only to find it's a fake; the spam takes control of the wireless system and uses it to activate nearby holoprojectors and televisions, so everywhere you go, endless ads all the time.

Was it the movie Minority Report where he walked into the building and targeted ads started playing as he walked by? Take that concept, combine it with a hackers talent and a spammers level of annoyance, and you have a recipe for some nightmarish ways to torture PCs. For instance, sneaking into the Megacorp offices on some nefarious deed, the group passes a lobby filled with holo projectors, all of which suddenly start up at full volume. "DO YOU SUFFER FROM JOCK ITCH OR IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME?" :smirk:

The Zhodani brain spam sounds fun too.

 

[Commander Truestar]

First, I believe exchanging personal information in a bar is quite different from business cards providing more public information.

Actually, it is really not. I can not tell you the many social situations where I have been asked if I have a card. And yes, while we do have mouths..it is easier to take a card andnote on the back why we took it than standing there holding a device to record someone else's recitation of data...

We are already quite a few tech levels beyond the business card but they still are quite common. I see no reason this has to change with even higher tech levels.

At any given tech level, what are the chances everyone will own and carry a device.

What is the chance that a device has compatibility with everyone else in their system let alone everyone else in another independently developed similar tech level system. And what about compatibility both forward and backwards a tech level or two.

Those are excellent points!

For those systems where the technology level is low or incompatible, the PDA, comm, or whatever could print out a business card on the spot.

In the opposite direction, you just take a scan or snapshot of someones 'traditional' business card and command your device to do a conversion to a contact entry.

And those are interesting applications for those who do have devices that can automate the task Thank you for yourhelpful ideas! I am definatly thinking more on this than I had been.

Marc

 

[Hemdian]

I have a thing called an "Ident Card" IMTU. It handles all the functions of personal identification, certifications, banking, passport, etc...

<snip>

But once you get past a certain tech level, how do youhandle the concept of business cards?

Well, IMTU there is no single form of ID for the most part. For civilian use it’s very much down to individual worlds and at high-, and even mid-, TL the need for a document or other device to prove your identity tends to recede. The relevant details (passport, banking, etc) are typically centrally stored ... and accessed via biometric scan (the specific biometric factors used will vary from world to world).

For interstellar travellers the situation is a bit different due to the limitations posed by no FTL communications. Travellers will need to register and create a ‘new’ identity at each world they visit. Potential abuse of this is kept in check by worlds typically sharing databases and running matching exercises: aliases will be uncovered in due course.

The IN and IISS use an electronic dog tag called an “ident chip”. It contains name, rank, and the equivalent of a serial number, and can be read from short distances (a couple of centimeters). Once logged with a ship computer, it can function as a key to open restricted doors, etc, depending on what access codes were associated with that ident chip in the ship’s computer database. The ident chip includes biometric data of its ‘owner’ for verification purposes.

That leaves the function of sharing contact details (for business or otherwise) in social situations. Again this varies from world to world, only more so. Some will use paper tokens (or “business cards”) with printed details or bar codes or a magnetic strip, others will use metal coin-like disks with contact details encoded within ... machine readable by any standard comm unit on that world. Any variation you can think of will exist somewhere. Since efficiency isn’t the driving force here cultural background dictates the form. But on high-TL worlds whatever form that takes it’ll probably also be machine readable.

 

[stealth]

What is the chance that a device has compatibility with everyone else in their system let alone everyone else in another independently developed similar tech level system. And what about compatibility both forward and backwards a tech level or two.

That, my freind, is a real buiseness tool. A traveller might pick one up for a few thousand credits, but a local wouldn't need one.

Maybe a high tech device (beside providing GPS info so big brother can track you) can optionally transmit business information non stop, on demand by someone else, or only when initiated by the owner based on a configuration setting.

For those systems where the technology level is low or incompatible, the PDA, comm, or whatever could print out a business card on the spot.

In the opposite direction, you just take a scan or snapshot of someones 'traditional' business card and command your device to do a conversion to a contact entry.

Heh. Our personal comms IMTU had reciept-type printers, data jacks for multi-plexing, and buiseness card readers. How quaint.

Yeah, using an optical scanner for paperwork is on a handheld is maybe TL-9.

I mean, the hand comm is just a savvy mobile phone for the future.

 

[aramis]

Keep in mind: the business card originates as the Calling Card. In the mid 17th C.

We're two TL's past, maybe 3, the point of introduction, and it's still the de facto standard for passing & storing contact data.

Even most contact management programs replicate the look and contents of a business card. So while they might add a data chip, the basic form factor is likely to remain unchanged...

 

[BlackBat242]

Keep in mind: the business card originates as the Calling Card. In the mid 17th C.

We're two TL's past, maybe 3, the point of introduction, and it's still the de facto standard for passing & storing contact data.

Even most contact management programs replicate the look and contents of a business card. So while they might add a data chip, the basic form factor is likely to remain unchanged...

You went exactly where I was going.

Higher social-class groups (like diplomats, European nobility, and such) still have separate "professional/business cards" and "personal calling cards", and they give out the one appropriate to the situation.

Just consider the legendary traditionalism of the 3rd Imperium in general (and the Vilani in particular)... how could they get rid of such a traditional, symbolic, snobbish, and legendary item and custom?


And I was specifically thinking of cards that had a RFID-style chip embedded, which includes both professional and personal info (suitable encrypted with a private cipher system)... you simply squeeze the Biometric-id part of the card corresponding to the type you wish it to be, and all relevant data is decoded, while non-relevant data is wiped, leaving only what you wanted to transfer for the situation.


Personal card data might include a photo, website link (personal Facebook/Myspace or equivalent), comm-system contact code, and minimal personal info like public hobbies/sports, music preferences, and the like.

The business card info might be employer/business (with contact info), degrees, website link (professional Facebook/Myspace or equivalent, with excerpts of papers written by/contributed to {or the full text}, projects participated in, etc), membership in professional organizations, and so on.


There are many possible permutations of this concept... your imagination is the limit.

 

[Pete Nash]

I don't know - depending on how wired into your brain it is, EMP would be just like a normal hardware failure, and a virus would just make it glitchy.

It might be a bit worse than that. Assuming that you will have either direct wire contact with the neurons, or a very close proximity conductive mesh over the surface of the brain, an EMP is going to hurt. Since it'll overheat the conductive components and there's no place for that heat to go, except into the surrounding tissue.

Even if an EMP is unlikely, how about the effects of a maser or a simple magnetic resonance field? Both of these will raise the temperature of the components to melting point in a fraction of a second.

In truth, embedded electronic cyberpunk style tech is very easy to neutralise. Even if you survive the internal burns you still have to suffer a surgical procedure to have the devices replaced - depending on the size and location, time consuming and not fun!

 

[Hemdian]

Keep in mind: the business card originates as the Calling Card. In the mid 17th C.

We're two TL's past, maybe 3, the point of introduction, and it's still the de facto standard for passing & storing contact data.

Even most contact management programs replicate the look and contents of a business card. So while they might add a data chip, the basic form factor is likely to remain unchanged...

Exactly the point I was alluding to: business cards are a cultural throw back that survive the march of progress. Except while the Solomani evolved the small rectanglular piece of card other cultures might evolve different form factors.