Contactlink Help

Contactlink is a simple tool that enables you to be found from any search engine site by the terms that you want to be found by - and then to be able to see who is trying to reach you before deciding whether or not to provide any additional information.

The basic building blocks of the Contactlink system are Contactlink Doors and Contactlink Cards.


Contactlink Doors

A Contactlink Door is a public web page with information that you provide that you want to be found by (like old/outdated contact information, schools, companies, etc.)

All of this is then made available to search engine sites like Google, Yahoo, MSN, and AOL.

When people search for you in search engines they can then find and reach your Contactlink Door web page based on the public information that you provided.

Once they reach your Contactlink Door, that same information helps them confirm that they have indeed reached the right person and they can then choose whether or not to initiate a Contactlink Connection request with you.


Contactlink Cards

A Contactlink Card is like an electronic business card that is shared directly with a person with whom you wish to make a connection. If they share one of their Contactlink Cards back with you (or visa versa), a Contactlink Connection is then made.

So, going back to the previous example, once someone reached your Contactlink Door web page, should they wish to connect with you, they would offer one of their Contactlink Cards along with an optional message. You can then see who is "knocking on your door" and decide whether or not to share one of your Contactlink Cards back with them and thereby establish a Contactlink Connection. Once a Connection is established, you are both updated as shared information changes.

That's basically it. The service is currently free, but we do reserve the right to charge in the future (most likely just for advanced functionality), so go ahead and get started and connected now while it is still free!

If you don't already have a Contactlink Account, click here to get started!


Getting Started

There is nothing to download or install. You never provide
any contact information about anyone other than yourself - and even your own information is entirely optional. The entire system is fully opt-in (meaning each person owns their own information and thus each person individually chooses for themselves what and with whom to share.)

Signing up is free and just three easy steps:

1. Create an account. Simply provide an email address and create and confirm a password for your account (if you later forget it, simply go to the lost password page).

2. Create Your First Contactlink Card. This is the first of up to seven different Contactlink Cards that you can create. Each of them can have different combinations of your information so that you are always in full control of what you share and with whom you share it. All fields are optional, enter just the information you wish. If you are initiating a Connection Request as you create an account, you will also be able to create an optional message to send along with this Contactlink Card to the person with whom you are trying to connect.

3. Create Your Contactlink Door Public Profile. This is the information that people will see on your Contactlink Door web page when they go to initiate a Connection Request with you. You may provide as much or as little information as you choose, but you are encouraged to provide enough identity information so that people who wish to initiate a Connection Request with you can find you and then are confident that they are sending it to the right person. Think of your Contactlink Door web page as the front door of your house. Putting a sign on the door with your Public Profile information helps visitors be confident that they are "knocking" on the right door. As with all information, you will be able to further change or modify this at any time.

If you don't already have a Contactlink Account, click here to get started!


After Signing Up

Once you have set up your account, you will have your very own Contactlink Address (http://www.contactlink.com/door/example) that points to your Contactlink Door.

You can use this address in many different ways.

1. Instead of an email address. Instead of exposing your email address to spammers on your blog, personal website, or corporate bio page, use your Contactlink Address instead. That way you can stay reachable without having to make any contact information public - and you always get to see who it is before deciding whether or not to respond...

2. In addition to an email address. Putting your Contactlink Web Address in your email signature line makes a whole bunch of sense - especially from a work or school email address that you may lose someday - since it gives people an alternate way of still reaching you.

When someone clicks on your Contactlink Web Address:

If they are not already connected with you... they can request to connect (and if you accept, you automatically get updated as their shared contact information changes).

If they are already connected with you... they see the latest version of the info you chose to share with them. This may seem somewhat trivial until you realize that with that one web address in your email signature you can present different views (Contactlink Cards) of your information with the people you correspond with - so you can automagically share just what you want with just who you want.

There are many other features, benefits, and uses of Contactlink, so why not just go check them out for yourself?

If you don't already have a Contactlink Account, click here to get started!