I attend lots of industry events and I don't know how many times I either run out of business cards or find myself cardless but thanks to technology it is a lot easier to connect. LinkedIn recently joined Facebook and a number of other sites that have created iPhone experiences which makes it easy to contact people you meet immediately thus online identity has replaced one of the features of offline identity - the business card.
So are business cards toast? My first instinct would be to say yes but on second thought I feel business cards still have a place. Take the Moo card revolution
as a prime example of how business cards can still survive as there is
definitely something to be said for being able to hold someone's
business card. Though after an event I find myself with stacks of
business cards that I cannot always get to immediately. Recently I
found myself emailing or text messaging people directly as I meet them
to save from having to review a number of cards at one time. I know a couple of people that even have business card scanners that help ease
the process of inputing contact information.
What do you think? Take the SOMEWHAT FRANK POLL (below).
Sphere ItTrackBacks
http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/431977/27278064
I think at the moment it won't, however I believe a minimum of 25 years we will start to see it fade out. Paper will be a thing of the past.
Posted by: Dallas Clark | Thursday, March 20, 2008 at 02:09 AM
I will not mourn the day when business cards die.
Posted by: Rob | Thursday, March 20, 2008 at 02:22 AM
I've always thought that business cards are a physical artifact of a face-to-face meeting - something that can't be duplicated online. I do think that social media (new information e.g. LinkedIn, Twitter etc.) and technology (bar codes like QR codes in Japan) will change business cards, but they are not going away. How long have we been able to IR beam contact info with cell phones and PDA's? 10 years maybe? We're still handing out and collecting cards, scanning or hand typing the info into contact databases and CRM's and some of us (me) keep them in binders. For a funny take on how SXSW treats business cards check out http://sxswcards.com/
Posted by: Marc Nathan | Thursday, March 20, 2008 at 07:44 AM
Eventually technology will replace cards, and that will only come when people can either add someone on the fly to a list (Facebook, their own) or "beam" their info to someone.
When this happens, then there will be no excuse that someone has no business cards on them! And people who don't want to exchange info will have to find another excuse...
mp/m
Posted by: Mike Maddaloni - The Hot Iron | Thursday, March 20, 2008 at 08:49 AM
Why not combine the two?? Social networking sites and new technlogy don't have to replace old means of connecting with other people.
ooprint.com (http://www.ooprint.com) has a number of business cards that allow you promote your digital identity:
Ziki cards: http://www.ooprint.com/us/dynamic/public/chooser.shtml?cat_label=EN_ZIKI-BUSINESS-CARDS_0
Facebook cards:http://www.ooprint.com/us/dynamic/public/chooser.shtml?cat_label=EN_OOPRINT-BIZ-CARDS_0
blogger cards:http://www.ooprint.com/us/dynamic/public/chooser.shtml?cat_label=EN_INTERNET-BLOGS-BUSINESS-CARDS_0
Best of all, you can order 100 cards for free! Test them out . . . I really like this company and their innovative products.
Posted by: m.clark | Friday, March 21, 2008 at 04:27 AM
How else can I so quickly show off my title and great company?
Seriously, a lot of trade shows (where I use b-cards the most) have already gone to badges that are attached to contact info and can be scanned as a preferred way to track and follow up with leads in a traditional 1:1, 1:many B2B model. I try not to use my b-cards socially, and usually just pass info via email. Maybe that's your point.
Posted by: CoryS | Friday, March 21, 2008 at 09:10 AM