Linksify™ is a contact information sharing system that gives users complete control over how their information is shared. Linksify has been in a controlled, private beta for some time and is launching their public beta to Fill the Funnel readers today.
How many programs, tools and locations do you have contact information in? Most of us have a significant list in Outlook or another email client. LinkedIn® and Plaxo™ are also holding a large quantity. Linksify provides an efficient, central location for you to store all of your contacts for personal, business or acquaintances. You gain complete control over how your information is shared, realizing that you will share different information for each contact type. No need for a business contact to have your home mailing address, but would be desired to share with a personal friend or family member. Linksify keeps people connected with family, friends and colleagues-while respecting their need for privacy.
Here is what Linksify does and how it does it:
- Connect -with anyone. Friends, family, colleagues or distant acquaintances. You control exactly what they see about you, providing comfort to connect with anyone.
- Control-what information people see about you. Share your work information with business contacts and your personal info with friends and family.
- Sync-to your existing address book, automatically and wirelessly. Always have your contacts current info wherever and whenever you need it. You no longer need to update their records…they do it themselves and you are always up to date. Connects with most major providers.
Tony Wu, Founder and COO said “Linksify is social networking without the fluff. Unlike social networks, you are in control of what each connection sees.”
You have three profiles available in your free account including Personal, Work and Other. You provide the information you would like to share with each type of contact.
Here is an example of one person with three different Profile views representing that seen by Work contacts, Personal contacts and Acquaintences:
Using Linksify, you decide not just whom to connect with, but what information to share. This added control allows you to safely connect with work contacts, one-time connections, as well as family and friends and sharing only that which you choose to reveal.
Linksify has created an ingenious way to provide this information using two innovative methods:
- Passkeys: are semi-private codes that you select and then distribute or share with people you know. By providing your Passkey to someone, you are giving her an advance acceptance—or “pre-approval”—to connect with you on Linksify and view your selected contact profile. You have a Passkey for each profile type.
- Webcards: are semi-public web pages where you can display selected elements of your contact profile. By distributing your Webcard—a unique web link (URL) with your Passkey embedded—to someone, you are granting him or her instant access to view one of your permitted contact profiles. Think of your Webcard as an “online business card”. With this method, your profile is tailored to the relationship of the person receiving it rather than with services like LinkedIn where one profile fits every purpose. You are able to create a personalized URL for each Profile’s Webcard.
Linksify is worth taking a look at. With Plaxo having been acquired by Comcast, I have been uncomfortable with keeping my valuable information in their hands. LinkedIn is becoming inflexible and way too involved. I can no longer afford an Outlook crash and disaster. After working with Linksify for a while now, I have decided to delete my Plaxo account and am using Linksify for all my contacts.
To join the Linksify beta, click here, then click on “Miles Austin’s Webcard” and fill in your information. Remember, it is better to get in early and claim your desired URL for your WebCard. Give it a go and let us all know your experiences in comments below.
Linksify describes itself as “the last address book you’ll ever need”. They might just be right!
