Paper is dead; everything is digital.

Are you done laughing? Good! Stephanie Hurlburt posted a lengthy set of thoughts on using business cards at conferences, and it inspired me to think about how I use business cards.

I happen to be at a conference right now, and I brought my box of business cards with me. I’m sure I’ll only hand out a few, if any, but I prefer having them to not having them. If someone wants my card, I should have one available for them.

When I worked in marketing, I really liked getting business cards from prospective customers and partners. It made following up after the conference much easier. Sure, we had those nifty badge scanners, but some people covered their codes to protect from sneaky scans or they used a throwaway email address to avoid spam. But even if the scan worked, typing useful notes into the scanner is a tedious process. It’s much easier to pull out my pen and jot a few notes on the back of their card.

Now that I don’t work in marketing, the above scenario isn’t as important. But it’s easy to be insulated against the scenario arising.

What about digital methods? Sending someone an email or LinkedIn connection as you stand there works: unless it doesn’t. Conference WiFi can be unreliable, and mobile networks aren’t always great inside a large metal and concrete building. Taking pictures of business cards works, but it’s still harder to take quick notes, even with the stylus on my phone. I have a QR code that is a link to my LinkedIn profile saved on my phone. I have literally never used it.

Conferences are hard places to make connections. You’re busy and you meet so many other people that by the time you get home your brain is mush. For me, business cards are an easy way to preserve data. And sometimes they’re useful for winning a free lunch at a local restaurant.