Despite appearances, digital networking hasn’t killed the business card – yet

Have you ever met someone, been handed a business card, and found yourself without one to hand back?

Perhaps you offered an alternative, saying “let’s connect on LinkedIn”, or displayed a scannable QR code on your phone that linked to your details, or offered to send a text or email.

Perhaps you thought cards were no longer needed. You might not be right, at least not for all people, in all situations, and, strange as it seems, young people are among those who might find them the most useful of all.

My own informal survey of 61 contacts on LinkedIn found that more than half used both business cards and LinkedIn for introductions, and another 11% said they used cards only, with only a little over a third eschewing cards altogether.

And business cards are continuing in surprising forms. Some use QR codes to link to very detailed information. Others create contextual information and link users via video.