Here's an interesting idea for a business: Collect business cards at 100+ high-tech trade shows every year, enter them into an online database, then charge an annual fee to access the records.

This is exactly what they're doing at CardBrowser.com, and the volume is staggering, considering the site's only been active since March: They've got 17,000 names in the database already, and they're loading 2,500 to 3,000 new cards per month from industry shows.

The CardBrowser system was originally built as an internal database for sister company SalesRecruits.com, an online recruiting firm. Those business cards represented "passive" candidates -- i.e., they may not be actively on the job market, but savvy recruiters know that those who aren't looking often make the best hires.

Plus, the fact that the information comes from a business card handed out at a recent trade show means the "freshness" and quality of the data is excellent --unlike purchased mail lists and directories that can have bounce rates as high as 60%.

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