While business cards can still serve these functions, there are now countless digital alternatives to keeping track of contacts and displaying your brand. Many wonders if the old-fashioned physical card is retro, still relevant, or simply a waste of paper. For years now, we’ve been able to add in new business contacts names, phone numbers and other pertinent info onto our cell phones or PDAs the need for a Rolodex now seems outdated. So why do we still persist in cluttering our lives with these resource killing pieces of trash?
I hate being given a business card and I don’t like feeling obligated to do the same for some appearance of professionalism. You can find most anyone online now. The one exception is that at times its harder to get a private email address, which is what I would want. However, they can serve some purpose because they are still the quickest way to exchange information. But with the change of tech, that may well be limited. When I first started collecting cards, I did so to get the information and to cold call them. Now with much more experience and age under my belt, that method seems primitive.
The onset of technology has changed much of the world that we live in, now we have LinkedIn, our phones can transfer information, money and reports to each other on demand and we no longer are unable to find each other because of personal websites, online resumes and Facebook. So perhaps…It is time to give up a business card. What are your thoughts?
