Muni on this:
After acquiring someone’s calling card and getting their contact details from there, do you ever look at the calling cards again?Or worse, do you find that you’ve lost someone’s calling card before you got a chance to add them to your contacts?
This is something that occurred to me while increasing my network of contacts at an event yesterday. I knew that I had a stack of calling cards I’ve collected from others piled up in one my drawers, some of which I never looked at, either because I never needed to or I added the contact on Twitter or Facebook instead. I also had some incidents of losing calling cards then resorting to trusty Google to help me find that person’s Facebook or Twitter.
What did I do to GET contact details?
Imagine at a convention of say, 100 people, how many calling cards get passed back and forth, and how many get a second look. This thought has led me to start taking photos of calling cards or simply just getting people’s contact details straight away and entering them into my phone, ensuring that I don’t eventually lose their details.
And again, if you didn’t get the chance to meet a person face-to-face at a conference / meeting, you can just as easily Google the person’s Twitter or Facebook. I’ve done this several times with people I listened to / learned more about at certain events but didn’t get to talk to. And I honestly think these people appreciate it when they’re reached out to post-event. I know I would.
What did I do to GIVE contact details?
Humans are creatures of habit, and a lot of us have become accustomed to asking for calling cards, so I acknowledge that not everyone will be content with doing the same thing I stated above. So I do feel there still is a need to make your own calling cards to promote yourself or help others remember you. But I believe we can rethink how calling cards are made.
I used to have quite a “flashy” statement calling card I was proud of. (see below)
And while it was a memorable card to give and receive, I felt that it used up more space than necessary, and that maybe, just maybe, I could put all of my relevant information on one side of half a calling card vs. my 2-sided full-sized calling card.
Lo and behold, I did, and I managed to include my personal contact details, and that of the group with which I am affiliated with.
It’s a lot less fancy, but it gets the job done, and allows me to add color and a handmade touch (through stamping of “MUNI” in red/orange and writing “JEN HORN” in aqua green by hand, while using up less paper. The card is printed back-to-back and rips in two to emphasize that yes, we can set a new standard of smaller calling cards and leaving less “white space” that most calling cards these days have.
The new card is also a lot more economical because it only needs 1/4 of the surface area my old card needed. PLUS I get to have this printed in black and white.
This may be less memorable than my boarding pass card, but I certainly hope that I will leave people with a stronger impression in meeting me rather than in keeping my calling card. 🙂
What’s your experience in the giving / receiving of calling cards? Do you keep cards you receive or throw them away? Have you experienced recipients who don’t give it a second look at your card and just stuff it in their pockets or bags?
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