+David Amerland is an exceptionally bright chap, but this time he lost it 😉 He argues that business cards are relics of the offline age and that 'just Google Me' will be more effective.
Now David happens to be blessed with a name which survives most accents and dialects but try mine or +Andrzej Marczewski or fill in your own name and think again.
Business cards are excellent in solving an awkward moment: you are already introduced but completely forgot the name and it would be impolite to ask again.
Or you didn't hear well as it's a noisy trade fair or the name is not familiar in your native language or you remember perfectly well, but what to do with 'Dave Smith ' or 'Li Wang' when sitting in front of Google?
Business cards solve another problem: meeting new people often happens in an intense environment. Rarely do you just meet one new person (someone you didn't email before the meeting). Trade fairs, conferences, exhibitions, press conferences are where you meet loads of strangers and googling is not an option until you have some time again.
Lost are the names, functions and discussions if you don't have a business card to scribble down hasty notes like 'perfect production partner', 'wants to buy shares', 'potential distributor' or 'nut case'. The last being an important category for later filtering…
Oh and 'Google Me' will work nicely in California, but outside of it you will be frowned upon or worse. Introduced to some important Asians and refusing to shake hands five times, nod heads and exchange business cards? No card, no deal.
The new reality is that before proceeding we all google the name on that card so changes and white lies will be caught anyway and offline and online life will always be reunited. But we need that first impression and the information provided for our later search.
How about you? Would 'Google Me' be the right message?
Originally shared by +David Amerland
"Google Me"
Yesterday, I gave a talk to a business group on semantic search. After it was over one of the participants came up and asked fro my business card. Now, I haven't used a business card since 2009. When I gave up using them back then the reasons that prompted me to do so were:
1. Collecting business cards was fast becoming the metric of success for networking. It took away from any meaningful relationship building and became a game in itself with some business networkers comparing stack size of business cards collected at the end of a meeting (I kid you not).
2. Business cards were often collected on the off-chance that they come in handy rather than a real intent to follow up later.
3. Information on business cards often went out of date. A year later almost half of the ones I would have stacked, in the past, in a special folder, would have to be thrown out and I would have to find new contacts to replace them.
4. Presenting someone with a business card often struck me as weird and a little intrusive. They, after all, could not refuse taking it without appearing to be rude.
So, what do I do instead? Usually I just say "Google me". Those who feel will benefit from my services can then find out everything they need about me to make a decision. Through the web they can also find out the most up-to-date way to reach me.
This, of course, changes other things too. First, it makes sure that my online and offline worlds are synchronised, linked and up-to-date.
Second, it means that I cannot think of my online existence as separate from my offline one.
Third, it now make sit imperative that I completely understand the importance of online content, how search works in relation to it and what the data I put on the web is designed to do.
Fourth, it becomes a filter for me. Those who are really serious about getting in touch will have thought about what they want before they send me the first email.
What I have discovered is that by working this way I create better, more lasting relationships with the people interested in my services. I no longer have to have a 'sales pitch' ready. Whether it's a magazine or website editor wanting to hire me, a company that needs me to talk to their executives or a conference looking for a keynote speaker, they come with a clear understanding of what I do and how I do it.
This also changes the relationship with prospective clients, entirely. Free from having to convince them that they need my services I can now focus on how to deliver the best value possible for them, when they ask me to help them. It makes my work way more satisfying. It makes the job of those who hire me easier. It allows me to deliver real value at every point.
Getting rid of business cards, for me, was symbolic. It signalled an end on traditional marketing (and thinking) and a search for new ways to do things.
Google search has become the only business card I need.
Or you could hand out a card with the correct spelling of your name + (Google me)
Sure +Robert Rambusch but why miss the opportunity to tell them your function/company and email address?
Because it will change by the time they get around to Googling you? 😉
Or perhaps because you are not your title.
So? You won't find the new info without knowing if was 'Li Wang' or 'Lu Wang'
That's where adding a memorable middle name comes in.
Lu "Excalibur" Wang
And you expect people to remember that 😉 A QR code on your business card will be easier in matching off and online life +Robert Rambusch
I see both sides of this coin +Max Huijgen then again, I'm an old dog and I happen to like the laminated business card my Solar Panel install guys gave me. So let me pose a 3rd option. What if you owned a simple "phrase" and asked them to Google that?
(ie) I ask them to Google social link wheel or to use David's semantic search routine What is a Social Link Wheel and I tell `em to click any page above the fold? I use this tactic when I get a new prospective client on HOA since my last name frequently gets misspelled and molested often. Works like a charm!
Why not just create a repository of online business cards in a collaborative agreement globally amongst all nations and publish an app for all without any copyright implications. It's simply good for business. One issue is to have verified cards so that the repository doesn't get clogged by questionable content.
I'm deaf. Are you kidding me? OTOH, that solves my problem for me since I won't bother to remember to look him up. He's probably also happy with that, though since I'm probably not "serious enough' for his business 😛
Where card design fails is lack of a photo. It doesn't need to look like an ID card, but a deft design with a subtle photo of the holder is win all around.
It depends on how common your name is and how difficult it is to spell. One or the other is usually a problem.
Ah the vanity of those with unique names. Enjoy it while you can.
They way I do it feels like it could be a mixture of much of this. I have often wondered abut a card that simply stated:
MarkDilley.info
Simple & filters out folks who don't want to type in a web address. Quirky enough to be memorable?
If you don't have a card, to a Japanese business person, you simply don't exist.
Perhaps there's an argument for +Mark Dilley 's approach, where I should also incorporate SEO keywords.
But in the Asian context, your business card is your 'Face', and if it doesn't come up to the mark: no deal, before you even start talking.
Yes, keywords
Oh I just winced when I read this reshared on another post, but knowing how Google evangelists get hero worship here decided to not comment. Cards are the cheapest form of advertising – they are convenient, quick and casual – too bad if they are not "Googley".
Yeah, if your name is John Smith and there are no other John Smith with similar names to yours. What if my name is Xerxes Yancy Zeus? Business cards is the one thing online presence can't trump yet. Business cards are still alive and well and very necessary.
I'd carry a card, but it'd say http://plus.lars.fosdal.com
These cards are not as common as they used to be anymore. The last one I received was actually a sticker.
That phrase is so presemptous that it just makes me not googling a chap!
+Catherine Maguire =FBI
'Hello, pleased to meet you.
Now, please hold up this plaque with your name, address and telephone number, while I take your mug-shot.'.
But being an SEO, telling people to 'Google Me' showcases that I know what I am talking about via websites and linkedin. Maybe I need to rethink the way I interact with people.
Have a personal QR code on your tshirt or Badge.
+Max Huijgen there is also another factor, what about people that do not want to be "found" due to privacy reasons ? take me for example…you wont find online with my real name. My specialty? IT Security/INFOSEC. In my case it's the other way around, the less you find the better privacy habits/rule-sets (?).
And as already mentioned; Japanese business people have meticulous ways of doing things (i.e. arranging the business cards on the table in front of you according to seating arrangements) I've seen first hand, how a japanese based company did not want business with a non-japanese company, because their representative just took the business cards and pocketed them right away – even though he quick-memorized their names. Why? because to the japanese business men, it was an insult, like saying "you're not important enough to me".
It has a vibe of a tea ceremony, just in/with business environments/settings.
Also on an additional note – business cards can be quite practical too. The "high-end" versions of business cards are actually flash-drives which contain documentaries or examples or just presentation videos, and/or have an unusual shape or form or additional functions, like a swiss army-knife
Do you expect me to read your business card?
No JulianBond23. I expect you to find me on Google Plus. The name's ErnstGoldfinger54.
+Max Huijgen it is always worth reading your comments and you are absolutely right. I've been on a few threads now discussing this and it's true. All of the issues you mentioned are ones encountered by many (myself included).
Personally I have solved the difficult name issue by really getting a person's name (I ask for their email, get their phone number down on my phone or make a point of connecting with them in a social network). The connection then becomes a little more real than the blind business card stage. However, that is not to say that what works for me is the only way to do these things.
I think we are getting into the stage where the relationship economy, in order to work, needs some real relationships. Exploring new ways of doing traditional things has to be one of the ways we move forward to what works. 🙂
Google me is just as bad as 'you can find it on the internet'. You think you get an answer. But you are really missing the details. Details are the important part.
I agree with you +Max Huijgen – If I search for my own name in an incognito Chrome tab, I'm not even on the first page. +David Amerland does have a point to some extent. Once you've actually engaged with that person's on-line presence, Google will bring up the correct one in most cases. But, to my mind, that doesn't replace the business card. That's the bit which comes after the business card moment.
I don't do business cards. My on-line presence has nothing to do with my professional life. If I did do business cards and wanted to direct people to where they could find out more, the card would simply say google.com/+JamesField – is that also arrogant?
There's something here about personal branding and deliberately providing personal information. If your business is you and your brand (as his is) then your activity will make you easier to find. And having been found you may then choose to show your title, job description, address, phone number, Skype and all the other things that end up on a business card. But there's huge numbers of people who might put this info on a business card but have no interest in exposing it to the world, or making themselves findable and visible by doing personal SEO.
There is a point here though. There are plenty of people in business who seem to make it deliberately hard to find or contact them. Even people who live by their public reputation.
Don't want to look like a relic of the offline age so I'll just say – that guy has his head up his Google!
I bet David's business cards have a couple of phone numbers, perhaps a Skype address and a physical address on them. But apparently on the web he doesn't want to share these. They're not visible on the first few of his profiles I visited. So i can send him an email or fill in a contact form. but can I get his attention?
I find this strange for somebody who's freelance. I'd find it equally strange for an employee or business owner who didn't provide their business address and phone numbers. SEO's all very well but it's useless if there's no data when you get there.
+Julian Bond lol. Erm… I have not used a business card (nor had one) since 2009 and I actually mention that in the write up which makes your comment kinda weird (unless you couldn't be bothered reading it, in which case hmmm: TL;DR?.
I no longer take on-spec calls and I am based at a home office and travel internationally. My number is available to those I work with but only because I work with them and in my case email is the best way to make a first contact for every one of the reasons I stated on why I do not use business cards.
Granted that may not work for everybody but posts I put up are always part of a discussion not an edict from me.
I have been following this discussion on many different threads. Some back up my perception. Others have provided a bridging point. Across the board there is a movement away from business cards except in the very few cases where the word 'digital' for someone means a bolt-on online presence rather than a full integration of the online world into their marketing.
Yes, I did and yes, I mis-spoke. I was kind of aware of this as I wrote it but left the comment like that as a bit of mild sarcasm. The point remains though. Business cards typically have a lot of contact information on them including phone numbers and physical addresses. And they are often accompanied with the words, "give me a call". So how do you deal with that if you don't have cards? Does your email signature have that information on it?
+Julian Bond no. As I explained, my business model is different and the "give me a call" thing is not how I work. Those who reach out to me already know what I do and who I am. They have a real issue to deal with that they feel I can help with and they are already prepared to access my services. The discussion I have with them is entirely different. (And, we do need a sarcasm font 😉 ).
And would that work for other people?
Part of the reason I'm pushing back is because when I was in business it used to infuriate me how difficult people made it to contact them. I've lost count of the number of times I've had to search and search just to find a phone number so I could call them or their secretary and find out where we were supposed to be meeting. It had to be phone because the same people were notoriously bad for actually reading their email. This is not cold calling but trying to communicate with somebody you already have a relationship with.
Anyway my experience and that of much higher profile people I know is that publishing all your contact info on the web doesn't actually lead to much cold calling. People still don't call you. And as you get more high profile they call you less because they think you'll be busy. It's not about that.. It's about courtesy to the people you need to talk to who've lost your details or never stored them.
Which gets back to business cards. They * are * useless. Because they get thrown away and lost almost as fast as they're handed out and the data doesn't get transcribed. But they filled a need that hasn't gone away.
+Julian Bond well, I've already mentioned that those I work with already know how to get in touch with me. I understand your pushback in terms of what you said and that is just bad business. It will happen irrespective of whether someone is easy to reach or not.
Did anyone jump to the (totally wrong) conclusion that I have anything but the highest respect for +David Amerland
See his new thread https://plus.google.com/u/4/115620878851836664537/posts/5CbcAsXTVrm
+Julian Bond +Otto Normalverbraucher +Richard Golebiowski +James Field +leuk he +Cosette Paneque +Sowmyan Tirumurti +Russell Deasley +David Crosswell +Noze P. +Mark Dilley +Richard Walker +Lars Fosdal +Leo Morales Sr. +Noze P. +Rob Gordon +Shaker Cherukuri +Paul Gailey Alburquerque +Cindy Brown +Catherine Maguire +Brian Ferguson +Robert Rambusch +Neil Ferree
See comment on David's new thread.
+David Amerland raises an interesting point with his remark about the enforced use of phone numbers because people don't look at their emails, etc. Again, as a person who does not use the phone (have you any idea how few people pick up relay calls?) that's generally why I go for business cards, as I have found those will list the email, website, etc. and give me enough information that I know I'm going to google up the correct person and/or business. I pick up business cards from places I've gone to, so I have their info at hand later on.
I also have gone to some trouble to make sure my personal/contact information is not online or readily associated with me, so this paradigm really doesn't make sense to me. Then again, neither am I running a business nor am I drumming up clientele.
So let me look at this from the client's perspective. First, I want to know that I do have the correct information for you. (I've been online since the late 80's, I know just how snarled up online info can be.) So if I meet you, I'm going to want that accuracy. Since I'm deaf, I'm not going to trust your spoken "Google me, my name is blarghaprblrfph." If nothing else, I'm going to ask you to write it down for me. Greater convenience is had on both sides with a business card (although as a deaf person, yes I travel around with notepad/pen for those times when it helps).
There are of course all kinds of additional strategies provided with an online presence, but I think these work the other way around, not for how to find someone you've met, but for how to find something you're looking for. And in those cases, an easy online presence (not so much website, tho the basics should be there, depending on what your business is but availability, use of social media, interaction with the public) is going to be key (all of which I do see +David Amerland using). But in those cases, I'm essentially googling you before I've met you. Once I've met you, I want to just go there, not google with the chance of not finding you.
In some sense, this strikes me as a little bit of a chicken or egg question.
Reading through this thread I see a very Anglo-centric perspective. It's one thing if someone says that their name is David Jones or William Smith. But if I just tolled you my name would you even remember it and if you did have a clue as hoe to spell it. Also, there are cultures where people have just a single name. Assuming you could even remotely spell their name, how many hits would you get if you searched a single name?
+Richard Golebiowski Isn't it Anglocentric to assume that I would have difficulty spelling your name? If I lived in an area (or was from a background) chock full of Golebiowskis (see that wasn't so difficult) the problem would more likely be "Which one?"
And that's where bizarre fake middle names come in, Richard "Tungsten" Golebiowski.
Nope +Max Huijgen. Back to the topic you can spot the cultural differences tho on the question. While oversea business using internet marketing since ages, in europe we are way more traditional still. And that goes to business cards too hehe
+Robert Rambusch Not Anglocentric, just 50+ years of experience.
Living in the Anglosphere? 😉
+Robert Rambusch Pretty much. I live about 300 miles North of San Fransisco. You don't see very many foreigners here like you do in the Big City.
I would put this on my card, if I were to ever have one : about.me/ashleywilson