Business cards for high tech firms

"We're a high-tech firm...we shouldn't even be printing business cards". This is a line from a man whom I had the uncomfortable acquaintance today. I usually start my day at 7 am. Thanks to my river guide step dad, I got the habit of starting my day early. Boy, do I miss fishing with him. At 7 am, there's not much people around so it's quieter and more convenient for me to work. A couple of hours after, it's like being in a movie house and the people behind are murmuring. It's not loud but it can be annoying. Although I have developed a skill of blocking out external noise when working, sometimes my defenses would collapse from new adversaries and it would take a while before they get straightened out again. For example, a sudden renovation in the adjacent office. My ears have to get used to the noise the hammers and electric drills are making before being able to block them off. I think all people can do this. I always say that if a body, part of it or itself, would always adapt to its environment given enough time. Like in bodybuilding, a beginner may find a 100lb-bench-press exercise difficult. But overtime, his muscles will adapt and would be able to do the routine with ease. In the office, my ears are already accustomed to the noise of phone rings, office chit-chat & laughing, fax machine, printers, the steady deep humming of the air-conditioner; the typical office noise. But today was different. A few hours after I stepped in, a man came in and got everybody stirred up. The fiasco penetrated my barrier and I was distracted from my work. He started broadcasting about his recent activities and accomplishments like they're something that would pale Magellan's feat in comparison. Then he started talking about websites and marketing. The very core of my profession. Needless to say this got my attention for a while. In the course of his unsolicited public speech he mentioned "...we shouldn't even be printing our calling cards".

While he was making love to his own noise, and I couldn't focus working anymore, I decided to do something else productive, I blog. Being the open minded person that I am I paused for a minute and tried to qualify all angles. "We're a high tech company, we shouldn't even be printing our business cards" said the gabby guy. Did I oversleep and missed the new trend in marketing that went "business cards not needed for high-tech firms anymore"? And if that's the case, how high tech a company must be to do away with business cards? Call me traditional, but I don't think I'm prepared to do business with anyone, high-tech or otherwise who cannot provide me a business card. Regardless of the setting; conventions, seminars, formal or informal business meetings, business card exchange is a critical event. Sales and marketing people know this by heart. Failing to exchange cards is like missing out the communion in a catholic mass.

Imagine this scenario,

Client: "Well thank you for taking the time to visit us and present your services. I think there's future for us. Here's my business card. Would you mind if I ask for yours?"
Gabby Guy: "Well Mr. Client as you know we are a high tech company and we don't really print our business cards. How bout grabbing a pen and a notepad and write down my contact information. Or you can log into our state-of-the-art website. There's a secured online form there that goes directly to my email. You can Google our high-tech company name so you can find our URL. If I'm going to fast, I can email everything I just said to the address printed on your card".

Rude isn't it?

I think people who are serious in doing their business have (or must have) business cards whether it's in paper, cd, papyrus or stone. Consider the infamous, or famous as my hacker comrades see him, Kevin Mitnick. I think he has the baddest bad-ass business card I've seen in my life so far. It's a die-cast lock-picking kit. Nothing could be more appropriate for the super-hacker turned security consultant. And I would like to believe that his company is a high tech firm.



Talk about creating an impression. And I think that's how business cards should be. It's more than just a small piece of paper where contact information is scribbled. It's an impression. It is given to make the recipient remember the first handshake, the first ice breaker, the colorful slide-show presentation or just the pleasure of the acquaintance. And this is what Mr. high-tech failed to see and cannot understand.

I remember not so long ago, when the Internet bubble was at its peek, there was an idea that was called "paperless". It didn't take long before companies disregarded that idea. The term "less-paper" would've been the more appropriate and acceptable term. I think this is true with business cards. It's evolving but I don't think it will become obsolete. But then again, who knows. Maybe Mr. high tech is also Mr. Nostradamus. Maybe it's like the new Google or Web 3.0. If it is, I'm prepared to accept it. Why not. But not just yet.