Alien poken body (Photo: © Poken Japan)

(Writer: Sandra Barron)

As they only transmit digital ID’s, not personal info, the thumb-sized charms are ready to slap four-fingered hands and swap data straight out of the box. Simply align them face-to-face, press the plastic palms together, and wait a second or two for a green glow that signals completed transmission. Later, instead of coming home and emptying out a pocket full of business cards and scraps of paper, plug the Poken straight into any computer’s USB port and log in to view your new contacts and create your own electronic business card. The card can have as much or as little information as you want to share, including direct links to your profile on any or all of about 40 different social networking sites, including Japanese sites like Mixi. Because the cards are stored on a server, you can update your contact info for everyone you’ve given it to whenever it changes.

“Poken bridges the gap between real-world networking and online networking sites,” says Peter Van der Weeën, the Belgian managing director of Akoni, Poken’s Japanese distributor. “It makes it so much easier for people to approach each other, even if they’re shy.”