Isn’t it time to have a “business” card for your social life?
Despite our reliance on electronic gadgets, the business card is still the default method of exchanging information. The ritualistic exchanging of cards during sales calls, meetings, and tradeshows is a cornerstone of any work setting.
But what about social settings? Sure, some people troll for customers in almost any situation. Who hasn’t struck up a friendly conversation only to realize their only interest in you is to sell insurance, real estate or Tupperware? But if I meet someone interesting at a neighbor’s backyard barbeque or my wife’s uncle’s stepdaughters’ wedding, I probably don’t want them to contact me at work. That’s when a social card comes in handy.
One of the secrets in life is finding people who are similarly aligned. People who believe what you believe, people who want what you want, and do what they do for the same reason you do.
The process of finding these people takes a lot of guts, a bit of guessing, and plenty of time. Social cards by gapingvoid are a great way to shortcut this process.
You can use a social card for all the contact info you’d probably never put on a formal business card. Your Facebook page … your blog address … your Twitter handle. Your political affiliation and dating preferences (see above about guts).
As a human you stand for certain things. There are ideas that are dear to you and that define who you are. Are you a romantic?
A sports nut? Do you have a wacky sense of humor?
You can use a social card to do all that. And at the cheap prices for digital printing, you can have multiple cards—one for that backyard BBQ and another for your Monday meeting of Area 51 conspiracy bloggers.
So when you meet someone outside of work you’d like to see again, try giving them your social card. Do in an instant what normally takes weeks or months; that is, define who you are and what you represent. And engage them in such a way that you discover the same about them.
Do you design or use social cards? If so, I’d like to hear from you!
As the cartoon says:
–BR
