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moo review [revoo?]
Daily Ink
Stored in: In Situ
Posted On: November 14 2006
By: Bryan Partington
Photo © suZen.
Okay, so a long time ago, in the heady days of October 2006, all of flickr was abuzz with moo.com's mini card promotion.
We make a couple of posts about it here on the ink, and even ran an interview with moo's CTO. I really wanted to follow up with a review, but fate interceded.
Before I go through the saga of how I finally received my mini cards, I should point out that that my girlfriend ordered hers on the same day that I did - the first day they were available - and received hers about ten days later, free and in excellent condition, just as she had ordered them.
I figured that mine would be arriving soon, since I had filled out the form at the same time, so I waited and waited and waited and waited.
Eventually I contacted moo.com, because it seemed like the cards were lost in the mail. They were very prompt in getting back to me and sent off some more cards which arrived pretty quickly.
Unfortunately, they didn't have my contact information on the back.
My website address should have been there, in bold, but when I checked out my cards, the backs had my flickr icon, flickr logo .. and nothing else.
I was also somewhat unimpressed by the size of the cards. I'd some how imagined that they'd be around the same total area as a normal business card, but with different dimensions. As it turned out, they look more like a regular business card cut in half. They were also incredibly difficult to get out of their packaging, the top card becoming immediately marred when I had to dig my fingernail into it to pull the stack out of its little box.
Walking from the post office to the bank with my girlfriend, I felt somewhat unimpressed. Telling myself that they were FREE after all, I flipped through the stack, realizing how inaccurately the crop on the website translated to the crop on the printed card.
When we got to the teller, she asked what I was flipping through. Showing her the cards, I explained the cards, how to order them, that these samples were free, that each had its own unique photo on it, that they had not printed my contact information on the back. The lost mail etc. etc.
She thought the cards were really, really cool.
The cards have a number of shortcomings, particularly the size. They don't feel nice to hold in the hand. They feel sort of awkward, and don't seem particularly professional. The print quality isn't bad, but it isn't great either. On the plus side, the paper stock has just the right stiffness to flexibility level.
That said, they're a great conversation starter, and definitely get by on their "difference" factor. They're not really aimed at the corporate world anyway, so I'm not sure that the awkward feel makes much of a difference.
Ultimately, that's the whole point of the moo cards. They aren't about looking professional and neatly fitting into a wallet or business card holder. They're different and fun and people WILL notice and ask you about them when you show them around. My own misadventures in international printing and shipping didn't effect my girlfriend's order, nor do I suspect that my attempts at semi-accurate cropping are typical - but they may leave you disappointed, particularly if you're used to having a decent degree of control over how your photos are presented.
When I was living in Toronto, some of the people in the local photo community had their own business cards with photographic elements. The quality of those cards simply blows the moo cards out of the water. The print quality you get when you order 4x6 prints online exceeds what you get on the moo card.
But look at flickr .. The photographic presentation is better than adequate, but not 'great'. The primary intent is to be quirky and fun and spark social interaction, while requiring little effort from the user up front. Moo seems to be adopting a similar philosophy, and I hope it works well for them in the future.
As for me, I'll be ordering an additional set of 100 for myself. They're just too inexpensive and easy to create for me not to. They'll be great to have when people as me about my photos or if my flickr account gets brought up in conversation, which happens fairly often. I certainly wouldn't recommend the minicards to just anyone, but they fill an important niche.
That, and they impress local bank tellers. Think about it, bank tellers see personalized cheques and letterhead and business cards all the time! Who better to judge these cards?
Other than these people.
[ further: I ordered some free skype cards from moo.com and they came through quickly and on time with the correct information on the back.]
4 comments on this Ink
On November 28, 2006, Carl Johnson said ...
Just for the record, my Moo cards came through exactly as I cropped them, which made the whole thing an interesting exercise in extreme cropping. Very pleased with them, though I haven't given them to anyone yet.
On November 29, 2006, David Wilkinson said ...
I love my Moos...
On November 30, 2006, Unknown said ...
I love my moo cards too.
They def. are better than scribbeling my address on a piece of paper, if I even have one at hand.
Croppping went fine and so did the quality. I know what images NOT to use next time (dark ones ;) and I love that they come right from flickr.
Easy for me, working on a slow analog line.
Couldn't test the conversational part yet though. Everyone around me only speaks Hungarian ;)
Hubby first thought they are awkward, but start liking them too ;)
On February 16, 2007, S Yes said ...
I love mine. They came out just right. I was surprised at the quality (in a good way) and I think the size is perfect - people remember them because of the size, they are more easily storable, more memorable and less crumply than most business cards.
I didn't put too much info on the back, which I think helped and I used colorful or dark pictures overall and they look best to me.
Otherwise, in In Situ:
- Previously: Where for art thou, flickr live?
- Next: Unlimited Bandwidth.
Utata Ink is a daily publication edited by Bryan Partington (striatic). Photos used on utata.org are stored on flickr.com and obtained via the flickr API unless otherwise noted. To make a contribution to Ink, please visit Ink Me.
