5 ms·

Yes, in some circles it's weird to use them, but in my experience those circles are the weird thing. Those circles are usually software folks and startup folks

Yes, in some circles it's weird to use them, but in my experience those circles are the weird thing. Those circles are usually software folks and startup folks in places like the SF bay area, etc. In those situations everyone trades linkedin profiles or adds eachother to contacts as we are standing meeting eachother. That leads to very weird social interactions which are the norm in these circles but are definitely not normal social behavior in the broader world. In the broader world, everyone has a card. It would be weird if you were giving a police report and the deputy told you his linkedin profile address, or whatever. Same for your plumber, business card make sense and a aren't going away.

derefr 2y ago
But, whether in a personal or a business context, I don't do... either of these things? Mostly, if I'm meeting someone for the first time in person, then it's either through friends, or at an event. If it's through friends, I just... meet them. No "connect." We have a conversation. We say goodbye. If I want to reach out to them later, I ask the friend I met them through to reach out for me. Simple and 100% effective. If it's at an event, I might ask for, say, their Twitter handle. (Or, if they're an artist, their Instagram handle; or if they're a maker, their Etsy store; etc.) But I won't interrupt the conversation to write it down, let alone add them right then and there. I'll just remember the handle, and if I really care, I'll write it down after the end of the conversation. Or, if I care slightly less, I'll forget it (or not bother to ask for it) and then if I decide I care later, I'll google their name + the name of the city we were in (or the city they're from) + their occupation and/or company they said they worked for. ...and outside of those two contexts, then I'm likely not meeting the person for the first time in person, so I don't want/need a card. My plumber? They're already in my house. I presumably called them. I know who they are. I found them online, probably. "Their card" is their website/Facebook page/etc. A deputy at a police station? I don't even need to know their name. They're a public servant with a uniquely role in their department. I'm guaranteed to be able to look them up at any time by role on the police department's website, and/or call the police department's non-emergency number and ask for them by role.
- iancmceachern 2y ago
  The first situation doesn't apply, I don't generally give my business card out in personL situations either, and let relationships organically happen as they do. That's not this. Thanks for the second example, it gets right to my point. Yes, in San Francisco if you ask the average professional for their Twitter handle that may be a way to contact them, etc. In much of the broader world its weird to assume people have one (I don't). It's weird to assume that that would be the way to contact them. Most of the world still uses email, phone and whatsapp/etc replacements for such to communicate. If I'm meeting someone for business purposes I want to know their business name, address, phone number and email. I don't want to know their recent tweets, etc. I just want to know what number to call when I want that service.
  - derefr 2y ago
    > I just want to know what number to call when I want that service. I have literally never once in my life been in the situation of wanting to hire someone to provide me a service after the first time I met that person, in person. Heck, I have literally never once in my life ended up with the knowledge that someone provides a defined service I would want, after a first in-person conversation with them. Because people who aren't weird entrepreneurs/founders/"personal brand" marketers, don't market themselves in the sort of small talk they make on a first meeting. And likewise, when I'm talking to someone who doesn't read as a weird entrepreneur/founder/"personal brand" marketer, I don't ask them what they do as a first-step way of getting to know them. Because for most people, that's not the thing they want to talk about upon first meeting someone! It's not the most exciting and novel and conversationally-fascinating thing about them! It's just some boring shit and they want to get away from it when they're not at work! (Or, worse yet, it's something they're embarrassed to admit — like that they're currently unemployed — and you're throwing a wet blanket on the conversation by steering it toward work!) I have been in the situation of being e.g. over at a friend's place, and the friend has a tradesperson or housekeeper or babysitter or something drop in. But you know who I ask for the service provider's contact info? Not the service provider. The friend! In fact, I would go even further. I lived much of my life in a small farming community; I only moved to a big tech-hub city as an adult. If someone in my small farming community who I didn't know came up to me and started trying to sell me their services... I would actively distrust them as a service provider! I wouldn't just not call them; I'd do my own research, and if I saw that person among the results, I'd be biased toward skipping over them as an option. I would feel spite toward them for having acted upon a belief that they could force themselves into a top-of-mind position in my mental rankings for their service, without me even expressing interest. I'd feel about them the same way I feel about businesses that take out interstate billboard ads, or maybe people who try to force flyers into the hands of passers-by. --- But that's getting a bit beyond the point, because more people are "weird" entrepreneurs/founders/"personal brand" marketers these days than you'd think. It's not just an SF thing, or even a big-city thing. No matter where you go in the world, I promise you that all the stalls at the farmer's markets will have some kind of social-media handle on their banners. Your plumber almost assuredly does have a Facebook Page (whether they personally made it or asked someone to make it for them.) Your local campground — literally just a big flat patch of grass — almost assuredly has explicitly submitted (paid!) listings to 4-5 different camping directories. My local thrift shop runs For Sale By Dealer ads on Craigslist. Heck, my 45-year-old second cousin, who has lived her whole life in one of the poorest parts of the Philippines with spotty electricity and no running water, has a sari-sari store — and the sari-sari store has a Facebook Page. The gig economy is real. All business owners have to market themselves in some way; and if they haven't lived in a cave for the last 30 years, they'll know that some potential clients will only do their research online — so they'll ensure they can be found online, somehow or another. So it's really just employees that need business cards. In theory. But even then: why do you need to reach out to an employee, anyway? You can just reach out to the business they work for. (The one single exception I can think of, is if you interact with / pay the business, but all the "employees" are still gig workers or contractors, and the employees' services are not interchangeable. Like, say, hairstylists who rent chairs at a salon, and might be gone from that salon the next time you visit. I could imagine getting a stylist's business card. ...but, weirdly enough, they don't tend to use them! They — like most "artist" types — tend to point you to their portfolio website / Instagram page!)
lowkey 2y ago
Last night after leaving a local tech event in Austin I stumbled into an ‘AI Industry’ reception which turned out to be all high powered government officials and lobbyists. I had my Popl NFC/QR code business card but they all had old school business cards. So it’s not just plumbers but also big tech lobbyists and former secretary of states who live and breath paper business cards.

derefr 2y ago

But, whether in a personal or a business context, I don't do... either of these things? Mostly, if I'm meeting someone for the first time in person, then it's either through friends, or at an event. If it's through friends, I just... meet them. No "connect." We have a conversation. We say goodbye. If I want to reach out to them later, I ask the friend I met them through to reach out for me. Simple and 100% effective. If it's at an event, I might ask for, say, their Twitter handle. (Or, if they're an artist, their Instagram handle; or if they're a maker, their Etsy store; etc.) But I won't interrupt the conversation to write it down, let alone add them right then and there. I'll just remember the handle, and if I really care, I'll write it down after the end of the conversation. Or, if I care slightly less, I'll forget it (or not bother to ask for it) and then if I decide I care later, I'll google their name + the name of the city we were in (or the city they're from) + their occupation and/or company they said they worked for. ...and outside of those two contexts, then I'm likely not meeting the person for the first time in person, so I don't want/need a card. My plumber? They're already in my house. I presumably called them. I know who they are. I found them online, probably. "Their card" is their website/Facebook page/etc. A deputy at a police station? I don't even need to know their name. They're a public servant with a uniquely role in their department. I'm guaranteed to be able to look them up at any time by role on the police department's website, and/or call the police department's non-emergency number and ask for them by role.

iancmceachern 2y ago
The first situation doesn't apply, I don't generally give my business card out in personL situations either, and let relationships organically happen as they do. That's not this. Thanks for the second example, it gets right to my point. Yes, in San Francisco if you ask the average professional for their Twitter handle that may be a way to contact them, etc. In much of the broader world its weird to assume people have one (I don't). It's weird to assume that that would be the way to contact them. Most of the world still uses email, phone and whatsapp/etc replacements for such to communicate. If I'm meeting someone for business purposes I want to know their business name, address, phone number and email. I don't want to know their recent tweets, etc. I just want to know what number to call when I want that service.
- derefr 2y ago
  > I just want to know what number to call when I want that service. I have literally never once in my life been in the situation of wanting to hire someone to provide me a service after the first time I met that person, in person. Heck, I have literally never once in my life ended up with the knowledge that someone provides a defined service I would want, after a first in-person conversation with them. Because people who aren't weird entrepreneurs/founders/"personal brand" marketers, don't market themselves in the sort of small talk they make on a first meeting. And likewise, when I'm talking to someone who doesn't read as a weird entrepreneur/founder/"personal brand" marketer, I don't ask them what they do as a first-step way of getting to know them. Because for most people, that's not the thing they want to talk about upon first meeting someone! It's not the most exciting and novel and conversationally-fascinating thing about them! It's just some boring shit and they want to get away from it when they're not at work! (Or, worse yet, it's something they're embarrassed to admit — like that they're currently unemployed — and you're throwing a wet blanket on the conversation by steering it toward work!) I have been in the situation of being e.g. over at a friend's place, and the friend has a tradesperson or housekeeper or babysitter or something drop in. But you know who I ask for the service provider's contact info? Not the service provider. The friend! In fact, I would go even further. I lived much of my life in a small farming community; I only moved to a big tech-hub city as an adult. If someone in my small farming community who I didn't know came up to me and started trying to sell me their services... I would actively distrust them as a service provider! I wouldn't just not call them; I'd do my own research, and if I saw that person among the results, I'd be biased toward skipping over them as an option. I would feel spite toward them for having acted upon a belief that they could force themselves into a top-of-mind position in my mental rankings for their service, without me even expressing interest. I'd feel about them the same way I feel about businesses that take out interstate billboard ads, or maybe people who try to force flyers into the hands of passers-by. --- But that's getting a bit beyond the point, because more people are "weird" entrepreneurs/founders/"personal brand" marketers these days than you'd think. It's not just an SF thing, or even a big-city thing. No matter where you go in the world, I promise you that all the stalls at the farmer's markets will have some kind of social-media handle on their banners. Your plumber almost assuredly does have a Facebook Page (whether they personally made it or asked someone to make it for them.) Your local campground — literally just a big flat patch of grass — almost assuredly has explicitly submitted (paid!) listings to 4-5 different camping directories. My local thrift shop runs For Sale By Dealer ads on Craigslist. Heck, my 45-year-old second cousin, who has lived her whole life in one of the poorest parts of the Philippines with spotty electricity and no running water, has a sari-sari store — and the sari-sari store has a Facebook Page. The gig economy is real. All business owners have to market themselves in some way; and if they haven't lived in a cave for the last 30 years, they'll know that some potential clients will only do their research online — so they'll ensure they can be found online, somehow or another. So it's really just employees that need business cards. In theory. But even then: why do you need to reach out to an employee, anyway? You can just reach out to the business they work for. (The one single exception I can think of, is if you interact with / pay the business, but all the "employees" are still gig workers or contractors, and the employees' services are not interchangeable. Like, say, hairstylists who rent chairs at a salon, and might be gone from that salon the next time you visit. I could imagine getting a stylist's business card. ...but, weirdly enough, they don't tend to use them! They — like most "artist" types — tend to point you to their portfolio website / Instagram page!)

lowkey 2y ago

Last night after leaving a local tech event in Austin I stumbled into an ‘AI Industry’ reception which turned out to be all high powered government officials and lobbyists. I had my Popl NFC/QR code business card but they all had old school business cards. So it’s not just plumbers but also big tech lobbyists and former secretary of states who live and breath paper business cards.