Pikachu Networking
Tags: productivity, tutorial, career, nfc
Published: 2023-02-22 05:20:22

> If you're like me, you may find yourself needing to share contact information often when networking. After all, isn't that what the point is? Unfortunately, it isn't very fun exchanging information the same old way every time. To fix this, I would like to introduce a very powerful tool I have discovered that makes contact sharing easier than ever. It's Pikachu!

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## Amiibo & NFC
For those who are unaware, Nintendo produces figurines called "Amiibo," which feature different video game characters. What's special about them is that each one has an NFC tag inside. NFC (not to be confused with NFT) stands for Near-field Communication, which many people may use in their daily life without realizing it. If you've ever used a Tap to Pay solution like Google Pay, or used a public transportation system where you need to tap your phone or a card at a fare gate to enter, chances are you've used NFC before. With Amiibo, NFC tags inside the figurines are used to transmit information to gaming devices for use of the associated character in-game.

One way NFC gets utilized is through so-called "smart business cards." With smart business cards, contact information can be quickly shared, using the NFC reader on the recipient's phone. While this is an effective means to share information quickly, and eco-friendly by cutting down on paper waste from physical business cards, it isn't exactly the most fun solution either. It can become boring and tedious over time, so how can we make it more fun for all?

## Pikachu
As previously mentioned, Nintendo's Amiibo figurines feature characters from different video games. One such game is Pokemon, with the very loveable character of Pikachu featured on Amiibo figures. Now, with Amiibos relying on NFC for gameplay, and smart business cards relying on NFC to share contact information, that got me thinking: Why not use Pikachu to share contact information? Could I use Pikachu as my "business card?" Turning Pikachu, or any Amiibo of choice into a powerful networking tool can be completed in just three steps.

## Setup
1. **Obtain Amiibo and NFC Tags.** As is probably clear from the nature of this article, my Amiibo of choice was Pikachu, but realistically any Amiibo character can be used. Since you are unable to rewrite the NFC tag already inside the Amiibo, you will need to acquire your own NFC tags. **I recommend using round 25mm self-adhesive NFC tags.** These are roughly the same size as the tag already inside the figurine, and being self-adhesive helps keep them in place during the reassembly process.
2. **Disassemble Amiibo Base.** This step is required to access the area within the Amiibo base containing the NFC tag, accomplished by separating two parts, an inner and an outer piece made from plastic, joined together with an adhesive. I chose to very carefully and violently pry apart the base using the first random knife I found, but any sturdy object you can wedge between the two pieces to open up the base should do. There is a great [YouTube video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FryxiZ8i_M8) available that showcases this process.
3. **Write the NFC Tag.** With the base open and the original NFC tag replaced, you can now write your contact information to your Amiibo. Most phones with NFC capability also function as an NFC writers, with my choice for writing to NFC tags being the NFC Tools app. For writing your contact information on the tag, I recommend wringing a link onto the NFC tag that directs to your virtual business card. This link could be your LinkedIn profile, personal website, Linktree, or anything else you wish to send new contacts. I chose to set up a simple one-page website listing information about myself, like a short bio and a link to my most used socials. This site was made with basic HTML and CSS and is [available on my GitLab](https://gitlab.com/j3x/identity). After writing the new tag, place it inside the Amiibo base, and close it. I chose to reseal the base using super glue, but other adhesives like hot glue work too.

_Bonus: For extra security, lock the contents of your NFC tag. This can avoid accidental rewrites in the future, but keep in mind that this cannot be undone. To allow for changes in the future, write a link to the NFC tag that will continue to deliver content indefinitely (e.g. a social media profile) or a link to a domain you can point to new content in the future. I purchased a new domain for this project and set up a forwarding rule to direct to my chosen content._

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## Conclusion
While more modern and sustainable tools for contact sharing, like smart business cards, might be appealing at first, they can become mundane over time. However, Pikachu will never cease to be exciting. Instead of presenting a traditional business card the next time you wish to share your contact information, consider presenting Pikachu to your chosen victim instead! Not only is it just as, if not more, effective than the standard smart business cards, but it's also fun and could even serve as a conversation starter. I used my Pikachu for contact sharing at the 2022 Web Summit and have no regrets. It was a wonderful and enjoyable way to share my information, and I plan on using it many more times in the future.