Below are some of the initial designs:

[View with PicLens]

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This will be the back side of all the cards:

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.”

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.”

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.

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?

1. Find people that are passionate about what they are interested in and help them promote it
2. Help groups of people who don’t have a convenient or unique way of identifying themselves in social situations
3. Provide a friendly and helpful experience for creating designs and promoting interests
4. Become community-oriented and offer collaboration and interaction focusing on identity, promotion, and design
5. Be efficient, fast, creative, and Eco-friendly
6. Create and promote a real life social network. Get people out and about – networking live
7. Expand the Print-On-Demand canvas to people who haven’t already experienced it

And how do I learn more?

• Visit the site!
• Send an email

by Tim Williams, Founder

“Meshables.com is kind of like giving birth to Life 2.0 – where people get out and mingle again…”  -Anonymous

And a favicon. 

Endorsement from Casey Schorr, CEO & Co-Founder at Printfection.com

“Tim reminds me of a more successful version of myself 5 years ago. He’s extremely driven and not afraid of anything the business world could dish out to him. He already has some successes under his belt and I’ll be sitting on the sidelines watching him amass many more over the coming years. Tim is a born entrepreneur. I offered him a job last year but a job is not for Tim. He’s a leader and should be off making his own business deals and building his own companies. A one-of-a-kind, really nice young guy.” February 13, 2009

Casey Schorr , Co-Founder & CEO , Printfection.com
was with another company when working with Tim at Hatch

http://www.printfection.com

Who is Casey Schorr?

Casey Schorr co-founded Printfection.com during his sophomore year in college, from his dorm room. He is responsible for setting and executing the overall business strategy in a hyper-growth environment. Under his leadership, the company has grown revenues from zero to seven figures in the first two years of operations without any venture capital.

It was interesting being away from the business world for a while, though in my spare time I did the IncTrade company experiment and a web project called OpenBlogger.  The business back at home was cut down in volume significantly before I left, as I anticipated being gone for six to eight months.  I was still able to field projects to Hawaii that were computer & internet related that I could do in my free time.  It didn’t take much time for me to get the projects done, so I still had a good bit of free time and not much to do…

To keep an active lifestyle and really get to experience the culture in Hawaii, I did something I thought would never happen to me.  I have been financially stable without ever having a payroll job in my life, until I decided to take a position as general labor for Island Demo, Inc. I fell directly into the “Demolition” category.

Island Demo, Inc. has been providing demolition, recycling, and truck repair service to the Honolulu area since 1988. Do you have a building to demolish?   We can handle the tear-down and removal of all rubble and debris.  If you are renovating, we also specialize in interior demolition projects. No job is too big or too small.

After tearing down walls and loading debris into big trucks for about three weeks, the CEO and Senior Estimator finally realized my capabilities and got me out of the field and into the office.  The new task was to update their terrible looking early 90′s website into something a little bit cleaner.  The end result isn’t fancy, but fit a large demolition company style (http://www.islanddemo.com).  After the website redesign project, I was introduced to estimating where I quickly became what we could call Junior Estimator.  Basically, I drove around in a 1998 military style restored H1 Hummer (pictures above) and looked at structures that would eventually be demolished.

CEO Mike Leary gave some pretty good insight to the world of business, especially in the industrial side of things.  He is just another inspiration to add to the list who has made it big in business.  I took notes from many early morning chats before work started about how he achieved success and every tip he had to give.

Aside from working at Island Demo, I spent a great deal of time surfing, exploring waterfalls, hiking trails, Diamond Head Crater, North Shore, getting a taste of the nightlife, hanging out with locals, and probably best of all- grilling in the backyard and spending time with my Hawaii family (Chris, Adam, Aaron, and Dylan).  Many Alohas to them.