In a similar vein:http://www.whynot.net/view_idea.php?id=485

Bar codes only mean something to the company that prints them. They hold no data in the code itself it is only in the computer system of the company that sees value in the code. Therefore, this system would only work if all of the companies shared their personal files and maintained a standard for the coding.

I disagree with Guat (above). Barcodes come in different varieties, each supporting (generally) a different character set. UPC, for example (you see it on consumer items) is numeric only. Interleaved 3 off 9 (aka Code 39) supports alpha and numerics, while Code 128 support 128 ASCII chars plus rudimentary data compression. All mentioned so far are one dimensional barcode - they look like jailbars and can be scanned with simpler equipment. There are also two-dimensional barcodes and they can encode much more information. The trick, of course, is to encode the information in a way that is truly useful. A pproprietary foormat is not that useful. I would suggest the creation of an XML variant, and then encode that variant in Code 128, but I doubt that a Code 128 symbol that contained a significant (read: useful) about of information would fit on a standard business card and remain scanable. The finer the bars are printed, the more densly the information can be packed, but at the expense of fidelity.

Encode the data as XML and use a two-dimensional symbology, but then the trouble is reading it. Two-dimensional barcode symbols are actually a series of one-dimensional ones, stacked tightly, each having a line id. A scanner must scan each line, assemble the picture in memory, then decode it and present a stream of characters for further software interpretation / parsing. This sort of scanning equipment is generally upscale (as compared to what you find in a video store or supermarket), making equipment price a limitation. The answer may bee found in the use of el cheapo cameras. Take a hi-res photo of the back of the card and interpret the photo later using the right image processing / business card interpretation software. That may make things a bit more affordable.

I agree, kP, that 2D barcodes could work for such a task. But if we resort to taking an image of the card anyway, why not just use the OCR capabilities that CardScan et al. already provide with their card scanners?

I do like the idea of creating a centralized contact information database though. Salespeople, specifically, could benefit from a Universal SalesPerson Code (catch the UPC pun) where you register yourself on behalf of your company.

The barcode (or number as it is) could be entered into a Contact Manager program (Act!, Outlook, Notes, etc.) and automatically synchronize from a central web-based database.

People could include whatever they chose on their profile and the information could automatically synchronize if it ever updated.