Let’s kill the business card and have an iPhone pow-wow
Let’s kill the business card, the paper one that is.
Why do we need it anyways? It does that hideous bent corner thing when you take out of your wallet (excuse us “Mr. That’s-why-I-get-my-cards-lamented”, you are an exception), the VP of Financial Genius gets tossed next to the Hatha yoga instructor and besides, that font you chose, with painstaking care, is ugly anyways.
Like Ernst-Jan Pfauth, editor in chief of NextWeb.org, I feel impelled to stop the “ruthless hitmen” and their budding online appetites to belittle and ultimately, kill the paper business card and switch to rmbrME’s bzCard or some other gadget.
Little surprise, most visitors, many with entrepreneurial backgrounds, on the original TechCrunch post by Jason Kincaid weren’t too fond of the whole “death warrant” idea.
“You guys need to get out of the [Silicon] [V]alley more. The business card, and your other page view bloating proclamation about voicemail, is not going away any time soon. You do realize that most business people only use their phone for voice calls and e-mail? Most business people don’t even belong to a “social network.”"
- Alex Valentine
“Most successful people I know simply don’t own a computer, sure as hell not a cell phone. There is no substitute for a business card in the real world.”
- Anderson
“They’re clumsy? What is that supposed to mean? They’re pieces of paper.They’re easy to lose? When did pants stop sporting pockets? Useless? Do the words fall off if the card is shaken or something? And seriously? Trying to throw in the “it’s the green thing to do” line? Come on. That line is wearing thin.”
- David H.
Now, from a sustainability in business perspective, the bzCard (or other eCard, vCard, etc.) can save paper, save trees and contribute to cuts in greenhouse emissions, right?
Not quite. Besides the fact that business cards have a lighter environmental footprint than ever thanks to individuals like Naomi Pearson featured in Triple Pundit (with Net Impact and Green Audit for Environmental Graphic Designers), companies like Green Printer and many other players, there is a valuable human exchange that doesn’t fit into the wireless network equation that happens when my hand touches yours, for a brief second, to give you my card. This is no fluff, this is how and why you remember some people at the end of that clean tech venture networking-palooza and why, others, you just don’t.
The point is, our business cards get (and are) loaded with meaning that would be a shame and detriment to take out of our business culture.
Computers crash, memories fail, back-ups are inevitable and your iPhone may not recall your accountant’s email when you are out in the wifi-free bush pursuing the “Green Man” challenge. Now, I am not saying that there is no need for things like eCards or bzCards, but that they cannot unilaterally replace the paper card. In fact, as entrepreneurs, our little ‘paper connectors’ become a craved luxuries in our electronic worlds.
What is more, that bzCard logic leads to the misleading impression that everyone else belongs to that 0.2% population that owns a portable (or otherwise) device equipped to store your online contacts.
As Pfauth brought up in NextWeb.org on the unsustainable digital divide:
“Really? Kill the business card? That would be really inconvenient for someone who works with consumers who can’t afford an iPhone or any other fancy smartphone, or who aren’t as immersed in this world of tech like we all are.”
A cautionary note here: I am noticing that that these supercool online business card galleries are somehow making it OK for aesthetics to trump functionality when it comes to paper business cards, which, in real-life, they ought not to. The business card, argues Anne Stewart in “What happened to the classic business card“, still needs to fit in our wallet or datebook without making it lumpy or a hassle.
“Business card printing isn’t what it used to be,” begins Stewart. “We’re not simply trying to communicate basic information anymore. We’re trying to get noticed, to shake ourselves out of our unshakeable apathy. Today, the business card is, it seems, required to entice, titillate, and often, provide a uniquely interactive experience.”
So, finally, my suggestion, Silicon Valley gentlemen?
Worry less about the ‘clumsiness’ or ‘looseness’ of these valuable paper connectors and check out some of the ways your powerful industry (and network) can further challenge itself to become an environmental leader. Debra Littlejohn Shinder of TechRepulic, for instance, writes a fantastic and very applicable article on “10 tips for implementing green IT“.
It is a small step, but I am sure you can fit it into your iPhone calendar, gentlemen.
Olga:
Thanks for the interesting post. I don’t think everyone is ready to end their relationship with the business card, but for those that are - I think it’s good to encourage their efforts to reduce paper consumption.
Everyone has to do their part in their own way - and we believe that there’s no one right way to use technology to improve the world we live in.
For our part, we take great pride in the positive environmental impact of our company overall - and both of us founders come from a long history of activism on behalf of the planet. We have articulated (and posted) an environmental statement - and we try to do everything we can to reduce our impact - including offsetting our IT carbon footprint, encouraging our employees not to commute, and being extra vigilant in our overall use of resources.
rmbrME’s overarching objective is to make in-person social networking more efficient and connected. While this shift (like that of mobile boarding passes for airlines) may not make sense to everyone - those of us on the forefront of this movement are enthusiastic and passionate people. And we very much appreciate the honest discourse.
-Gabe
VERY well said, and to be honest I think that the carbon footprint of business cards pales in comparison to the technological instruments that are discarded year after year as we undergo necessary “upgrades”. There are a lot of problems worth discussing here — a lack of upwardly compatible systems, a lack of electronic recycling resources — but there are a handful of solutions, too. I live in the bay area and practically NO ONE throws away their old computers…they try to sell them, donate them to students, whatever it takes. There are a lot of inner-city schools with old Apples :). I see a lot of people using “virtual” technology too — advanced voicemail systems like Gotvmail that replace in-house PBXs and answering machines — and remote back-up systems that take the place of external hard drives (which have a criminally short shelf life).
Forget business cards…get rid of your file cabinet and do ALL documentation through PDF! Yes, computers crash, but back-ups are possible…and let’s not forget that paper burns.