Saturday, September 26, 2009
Business Card Alternatives For the Real World
WebWorkerDaily: "So you’re a web worker, but you still meet people in meatspace that you want to network with, and making them type an email into their phone or handing them a plain jane business card either feels awkward or isn’t getting results."
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18 comments:
These seem a little too weird to actually use in the real world. I can't imagine that people would go out and find lots of rocks and bring them in liu of business cards. If you were at a networking event, would you REALLY carry around a bag of rocks with your info on them? that seems like itd be very hard to carry, and what do the recipients do with your rock? Most people carry something which holds the cards they receive, a rock would get placed elsewhere and probably forgotten.
I think that its important to have a card with pizzaz, but it should fit in with standard conventions. This way, people will store them with everything else they get, and will know how to find your info when they want it. You shouldn't make them search their phone for a picture of you in a shirt, their pockets for a fortune, or any other place they wouldn't have your info in an intelligent accessible place.
I think a lot of these only work in certain lines of work. I like the fortune one but it's not particularly new anymore. I like free pens personally. I don't know who I could be giving a 'card' to who would prefer a T-shirt or scan card. I think 'cards' are great when they're multipurpose. A pen does the trick, give-aways are great. Just not wearable ones.
I would certainly remember somebody handing me a rock with their phone number on it, but agree with others in that it would easily be misplaced or tossed into the garden. I'm a big fan of business cards that are easily carried in a wallet/purse and contain all the information in an easy to read form. Having to scan a business card to then pull up the information online through another program doesn't seem efficient or appealing to me. Usually, I take the information and put it directly into my contact list on my phone/computer and throw away the business card anyway. Especially in the arts, where we are constantly meeting new coworkers and time is essential, simple may be best.
Interesting ideas...but I tend to like the boring business card with the info on it. I think that the business card has many merits that outweigh what they call useless. All the information printed plainly, or creatively, on a card makes pretty straightforward. As for something like the "Email/Blog Address Fortune" I see that as a creative business card...it still has the info a business card has, but with some creativity. As for something like the QR code...can you say waste of time? The t-shirt idea sucks too because what if you don't have a camera in your cell phone, my Blackberry doesn't. And as for the rock...can you say waste of time???
I have to agree with everyone else here, the simple business card is the best way to go. I feel like not many people know about or have scanners accessible to them to use the QR code.... unless you are strictly handing them out to computer/technology people who are up on this type of medium... I think that the rock is kind of a cool and memorable idea, but not very practical. Many of these ideas don't seem to be thought out very well...
Business cards are not a leftover from days gone by. They are merely a means to an end, aka networking yourself easily. These new forms of business cards are a way of making it a performance rather than a formalilty. However, most people want your business card after you already impressed them (aka performed for them). These new ideas just want to find new ways to say "look at me," which is fine but what's exactly amazing about them? For items like the shirt, you need to backup your networking with a personality to the other person after the fact as opposed to your personality backing up your business card. The fortunte cookie are easily lost, but a valiant effort, an the carcode, well, in the right field, that's probably the best idea of them all.
These all seem like great idea if you are at a trade show or some kind of conference where you are handing out a unique items with contact info to potential clients or employees. This does not seem like an effective way for a single person to give out contact to multiple potential employers. I also find it ridiculous that so many of these are based on cell phones and the ability to take pictures or use applications on the smartphone to be able to have the contact info. I think a regular business card is probably still a decent way to go about giving out one's info.
I think the most memorable business cards I've ever gotten were either printed on clear plastic or had one edge devoted to a ruler. The rock idea was pretty hysterical, especially since the first thing that came to mind was a window repair company tossing them through someone's window. Most of these ideas felt more like ways to give out information if you didn't have an existing business card. The especially the rock and fortune cookie felt like alterations on the old napkin or back of hand methods, and the more complicated ones like the bar code just seem like they might actually be too much work for the receiver.
I completely disagree with the Etherington's statement, "Let's face it. The business card isn't useful." I think that they're one of the most useful forms of networking. They're small and handy, you can keep some in your wallet, more in your purse. I know that I have a section in my wallet for business cards. If I need some contact information, I just go to the cards, find it, and give them a call. Simple, straightforward and easy.
I understand that with increased technology people are going to be more resistant to the simplicity of "traditions" but business cards can be challenging in their own manner. There is so much room open for interpretation and design when it comes to business cards. You can put a blog or website address on their, so it will link to the technological era. But if I ever got a rock with contact information scribbled on with Sharpie, I wouldn't be very impressed.
This is such a fascinating article. But a huge part that seems to be completely ignored is who the person is. For example not everyone can get away with the fortune idea. It takes a certain personality to pull that off. As for the other methods, while they are cool, how many people actually have a barcode decoder.
In the long run the best thing to do is to consider what circles you run in and go from there. In the world of web design, a URL seems the best option. However in theatre, with so many different generations each with their own technological comfort level, you have to be very careful about what you hand out.
Plus there is the connotation around it. Writing your info on a rock might work for an artist of sorts, but if you are applying for an office job at an insurance company, the rock won't go down so well.
All in all, these are flashy interesting ideas, but it's not a very helpful list at all whatsoever.
While I agree the business card is the most conventional and easy way to give personal contact information, but lets face it. In the course of a year, a professional could plausibly recieve hundreds of business cards. And in this case, the important part of the card is to not convey personal information, because with modern technology, anyone's information is availible with the click of a button, but to be remembered. What good is a business card in a stack of hundreds of others if you don't stand out. The ideas proposed by in the article are brilliant ways to get people to remember you. And in this business, thats the best thing.
While some of these suggestions are useful for some very specific people and specific situations. However, I believe that no situation calls for a rock. Who is going to keep a rock beyond the event at which they got it?
However, there are some alternatives that I have seen that were quite effective. The most useful yet unique card that I have seen was printed on metal. It was for a metal working shop and was possibly the coolest thing I have seen. It was also able to fit in the same place a regular card would in my wallet. Another one I have seen was stretchable where the card had the name/company on the front, then you had to stretch it to see the contact info. Again, it fit in my wallet.
While trying to get outside of the box is important when networking, I think it is also important that the thing you leave behind fits in the wallet.
I agree with what people have said before. Other than a trade show, I can't really imagine some of these tactics being implemented in every-day business interactions. Sure, firing a T-SHIRT with your phone and email written on it from a t-shirt cannon could be fun; but, not for a meeting.
I have heard positive things about distributing CDs as a form of sharing resumes, photos, and contact information. The theory is that people often throw away business cards, or end up washing them in laundry, but CDs seem to linger on people's desks for longer time. When people get bored at work, they're more likely to pop in a CD rather than look up your website from a business card.
It's a thought, but not so sure how well that will work now with the increased use of flash-drives...etc.
A few of these ideas seem kind of interesting to me, but in the long run, I feel like the classic business card is the way to go. There are plenty of creative ways to work within the realm of a business card to make it stand out, and one of the most important things about these cards is the convenience to hand them out and have them in your pocket at will in case you want to find out more about someone or a company. Granted, that’s changed somewhat with the advent of smart phones and other similar devices. Honestly, though, if someone handed me a rock as a business card I would probably think they were more of a practical joker then someone who was serious about their business. Having your information printed on a clear concise business card is going to be much more effective than trying to pull some crazy gimmick to try and get someone’s attention. People will be more impressed by the skills and ideas you present, not the craziness of your alternative business card.
I think these ideas were cute, but really impractical for the theatre industry. Its nice to be original, but the use of the business card is the same as it ever was, so that people will have your information after they leave your presense and they will be able to remember you. It doesn't matter if your card has an amazing design, but it matters more that your impression on the person compels them to keep it handy.
I don't think that people should stop using business cards. It's easy, and people can just put them in their wallet when they receive them. A business card also says a lot about the person giving it out. These other ways of representing yourself to a client are definitely interesting, but not practical. Who would want to carry a stone around with them? And wouldn't it be annoying for someone to have to take their camera out to take a photo of you? Business cards are the way to go, and I think they will be for a long time.
I'm fine with the idea of displaying contact information in an alternate fashion, but some of these ideas are just way too out there to be practical. Maybe in addition to business cards, these would be interesting choices, but alone they seem to really limit the amount of people you would be getting information to. For instance, having to scan a bar code with a smart phone and a certain application means that people with smart phones are the only ones capable of reviewing this information. Although it's true that the amount of people with this kind of technology is increasing, we still shouldn't rely on this when it comes to getting information across.
In this ever changing digital age, new ideas of communication and networking are needed to be noticed. This article gives some specific rare ideas. What it fails to mention is that the best way to make in impression is with personality and the pitch. The business card is not going to get you the job, just connect back to the person that gave out the business card. A flashy business card will help because of a larger impression, but a rock... really. Who is going to carry a rock in their pocket when you hand it to them. Who has the time to create all of those rocks. In the time it would take to create the rocks, how many connections could be made talking to people and handing out business cards? It is the case of diminishing returns. New ideas are good, but be careful at what cost.
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