Teacher Cards
Meshables.com & MomCards.com to release a new, experimental product line – Teacher Cards. Self titled, useful cards for teachers and professors to hand out. Grade school teachers can use these to hand out to younger students in order for them to take home to their parents. Professors can use these in addition to a syllabus for an easy way to stay in touch with college students.
Below are some of the initial designs:
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This will be the back side of all the cards:
Press Release for Meshables.com Launch
The following is the first Press Release to be issued for our startup, Meshables.com, after it’s initial release Wednesday May 13, 2009. The site will be released slowly through smaller mediums and spread around to more close-knit groups of people at first. During this initial release the website will be thoroughly tested and some content additions and modifications will be made. A more widespread “Grand Opening” PR will go out and heavier advertising to follow suit expected within the next 30 – 60 days. Enjoy the article.
Social Media Turns Tangible
May 15, 2009
Huntsville, AL based Meshables (www.meshables.com) is ushering in a new twist on the social media phenomenon with the advent of social cards anyone can design themselves.
If you have not notice by now, the impact of social media has gone beyond the expectations of nearly everyone. It has proliferated so many avenues of our culture that social networking has irrefutably changed the way we interact and form relationships with others. Or has it? Whether you are on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, or any other SN sites, most of our friendships initially start at the same place: offline.
Think about where you met your most recent casual acquaintance. Perhaps it was at a party, or at your child’s little league game. Maybe you had a great conversation with the person seated next to you on a flight. So how do you keep in touch?
Business cards are fine for the working world, but in casual situations, they can send a lot of mixed messages. The new way of connecting “off the clock†is social cards, or meshables, as they are frequently called. Meshables can be most anything, from a picture with your contact info on it, to attractive artwork that might have links to your SN pages. They are creative little handouts that say something about you as a person, not just you as some company’s property.
If you are into music, classic cars, cooking, or any other hobby, then put a piece of yourself out there for the world to see. It is amazing how many people share the same interests. Other variations of meshables include Mom Cards, that can be handed out at PTA meetings or sporting events. There are also event cards to promote small concerts, get-togethers, ceremonies and much more. The model is simple: users can create designs online using pre-built templates, or go wild and design their own from scratch. Once ordered, meshables are delivered to your doorstep within days.
“I first saw this concept in action in a local mall in Huntsville, AL,†says Tim Williams, Founder of Meshables.com. He went on to say “I was approached by a rapper who was trying to sell me one of his self-produced hip hop CDs. He was from Greensboro, NC and was on the road promoting his new album. I never buy music without hearing it first, so I asked if he had a MySpace page or something else I could check out.†Without hesitation, he handed Williams a card with the album artwork and a link to his MySpace page where the music could be heard. Williams quickly realized that every bar band, artist, comedian or social butterfly should be carrying something similar.
Under the mentorship of Fred Durham, CEO of CafePress.com, Williams set out to produce a system that would allow people to create their own social cards with ease, and Meshables.com was born. Meshables runs on the PrintBridge platform (www.forixprintbridge.com), powered by FORIX. “It was one of the only solutions that could perform the way I needed it to for less than $5,000,†claimed Williams. “Most of the comparable systems out there were between $80,000 to $100,000.â€
One of the key differentiators that attracted Williams to the PrintBridge web-to-print solution was that he needed an online editor that was dynamic, yet simple. “The other W2P solution providers and photo sites have completely static templates. There is no play or flexibility in the designs. Our customers have full creativity and can even design their pieces entirely in their browsers,†said Williams.
Williams went on to say “The PrintBridge online design editor has the functionality of advanced design software, but is easy to use as any simple tool. There is nothing foreign or different like some of the more complex programs. My tech-challenged aunt got in there and figured it out within a few seconds. It truly is something anyone can use.â€
Meshables.com now joins the ranks of Moo.com and TinyPrints.com, bringing its novel and original concepts to the forefront of social media. They are poised perfectly on the next big wave of where casual networking is headed, and certainly are a company you will want to keep your eye on.
Written by:
Brian Taylor
VP of Business Development
FORIX, LLC.
Meshables.com Initial Release
In mid-April 2009, I was approached by a 6ft. hip-hop artist at the local mall in Huntsville, Alabama. “What up man, hear me out real quick,” is what he said first. Being the attentive one, I cruised right over and obliged to find out what exactly it was he had to say. “$5.00 for my mixtape man, support my music,” he said. So it was a mall-music-pusher, which I have encountered probably ten or fifteen times before. It costs you five dollars to take the CD and leave, otherwise you have to stay there and listen to the sales pitch that ranges in quality and length. Or do you? After about the third time, I found it easier to just say “Hey cool, do you have a Myspace Music page I can check out? I don’t really have time to listen right now, but I’ll check it out online when I get home.” It’s understandable that you don’t want to buy it when you haven’t heard it before, see what I’m saying – it works. So this is what happens next. This 6ft. hip-hop artist pulls out of his wallet a 3.5″x2″ “business card” with his rap emblem, name, Myspace Music page, mini-website, and phone number on it. Wow, really? I think I’ll actually go home and look this guy up. As I was leaving the mall, it occurred to me that I was six months into starting a company. One that allows individuals, artists, performers, small businesses, venues, etc. to create completely personalized prints [online] to identify and promote themselves. Yeah, that just happened.
Introducing…
What is it, exactly? Meshables are your gateway to real-life social networking. The biggest-bang on the Internet right now is social networking – people eat, sleep, breathe, and subconsciously crave their addiction to social networking and what it provides for them. It’s all about meeting people, building relationships and putting yourself out there to impress everyone else. The question that Meshables asks is, “How are you going to extend that relationship into real life when you finally have lunch with this person you’ve been connected with online?” There needs to be a medium of linking yourself to that online identity that they know so well. That’s exactly how Meshables fits in to this mega-meshy-mess. Identify and promote yourself in real life. Real life social networking. It’s just as important, or even more important than doing so online.
What can you do with it? Ultimately, you decide. However, it allows people to create either entirely from scratch or from a template – completely unique prints that will arrive at your doorstep to help you get moving socially. Currently it is broken down into three main targets. Personal Identity which focus on people who need a business card unique way of identifying themselves the way people in companies do, but in a not-so-serious manner. Secondly, Event Prints which allow people to create unique and personal invitations, reminders, dates, and schedules to notify and keep track of people in a real social network. And lastly, Promotion/Advertising which allows venues, captivators, establishments, and small businesses to create their own promotion and advertising materials without hiring costly graphic design firms and artists; this allows for a real life connection to the audience – not just a MySpace invite. Those categories will always expand as various groups hit the surface that are in need of some unique air.
What’s good about it compared to similar companies? In a broad perspective, it offers unique design templates and full control over the way the product looks – so that it is entirely unique and personable. Many similar gigs are just “printing companies,” and that’s about all they do. Meshables are much more personable. Continuing in a broad perspective, they have unique uses. For example, Calendar Cards allow a person to “blip” or “dot” color-coded dates on the calendar template side and then have corresponding “blips” on the flip side with event details and information. This allows for a months worth of events to be placed on a 5″x7″ card. Other companies just have the ever-bland product called “Postcards”. Overall, Meshables are to their own uniqueness and strive to be different from the other printing establishments out there – not seen as a competitor.
Meshables is a US based company, allows for a full design customization and offers quantities starting at 200 with a lesser or competitive price. People need quantity just the same as a business does, which makes me feel like some printing gigs are putting a limit on people like a child… “Here’s 10 cards, that’s all you’ll need. Now, where’s my 30 bucks plus shipping??” At the same time, it’s definitely not a four-color mega corporation where you purchase 10,000 flyers with a generic design printed around your cut-and-paste company info.
What are some goals for the company?
- Find people that are passionate about what they are interested in and help them promote it
- Help groups of people who don’t have a convenient or unique way of identifying themselves in social situations
- Provide a friendly and helpful experience for creating designs and promoting interests
- Become community-oriented and offer collaboration and interaction focusing on identity, promotion, and design
- Be efficient, fast, creative, and Eco-friendly
- Create and promote a real life social network. Get people out and about – networking live
- Expand the Print-On-Demand canvas to people who haven’t already experienced it
And how do I learn more?
by Tim Williams, Founder
“Meshables.com is kind of like giving birth to Life 2.0 – where people get out and mingle again…” -Anonymous
