{"id":66712,"date":"2014-03-31T08:00:07","date_gmt":"2014-03-31T13:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=66712"},"modified":"2014-03-31T10:12:28","modified_gmt":"2014-03-31T15:12:28","slug":"to-bussiness-card-or-not-to-business-card","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=66712","title":{"rendered":"To Business Card or Not to Business Card"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Jennifer Devine, Head Editor, INALJ Maryland<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

To Business Card or Not to Business Card<\/span><\/h3>\n

\"Jennifer<\/a>With the Spring Conference season upon us I have been contemplating the relevance\u00a0of business cards. In this world of technology you no longer have to write a phone\u00a0number down on a piece of paper to remember it. You can easily put a phone number\u00a0or other contact information in your phone\/tablet or on your computer. Therefore in\u00a0today’s society are business cards still relevant?<\/p>\n

According to one source: \u201cThe paper business card has lost its significance–and\u00a0utility\u201d. This article<\/a> offers advice on how to connect with your smart phone instead of\u00a0using business cards by using apps such as WriteThat.Name<\/a>, Bump<\/a>, and for people\u00a0who do give you their business cards the app CardMunch<\/a> which is connected with\u00a0LinkedIn and takes the information from the business and transfers it on to your\u00a0smart phone, allowing you to toss the card and still have the information. Other apps\u00a0included were various business card scanners that scan the info into your contacts on\u00a0your smart phone.<\/p>\n

In a different article<\/a> they ask if the business card is dead. Their take seemed to be that\u00a0it is not entirely dead but they refer to apps such as the ones listed above and the idea\u00a0of a business card 2.0. However, with data taken from MOO (a great business card\u00a0site) the writer mentions that people are still purchasing business cards mentioning\u00a0over 50 million sales! From MOO\u2019s 2013 year end sales.<\/p>\n

My answer is that business cards are still relevant!<\/strong><\/p>\n

At the 2013 TED conference\u00a0one attendee pointed out<\/a> that the Techies were not tapping their phones together\u00a0to exchange information or even putting info into their contacts that they were all\u00a0exchanging business cards! You can offer more information on business card than\u00a0you can by just giving a phone number or other contact info. You can include a\u00a0website, an e-portfolio, a QR code that links to a digital resume and other valuable\u00a0information.<\/p>\n

I recently have made business cards and intend on bringing them with me, during the\u00a0conference season. It took me a while to decide what I wanted to put on them and how\u00a0much information I should include? My biggest issue was that I am somewhat still\u00a0\u201cfresh\u201d out of Grad School and I have only a part-time position. I feel this might be\u00a0an issue for other too! So here is some of my advice: I landed on including my Name,\u00a0Position, Degree Info, City and State, Phone Number, E-mail address, Website,\u00a0LinkedIn handle and Professional Twitter handle. The content of the business card I\u00a0found is the most confusing for getting your first business card.<\/p>\n

This was a discussion topic in the SNAP<\/a> (Student and New Archive Professionals\u00a0Rountable) listserv from SAA last summer when I was graduated. A discussion\u00a0evolved over how to refer to ones self when you have just graduated or are graduating\u00a0and you do not have an actual job<\/strong>. Some of what I have seen is paraprofessional,\u00a0information professional and recent graduate another popular choice is to just leave\u00a0off a title and put your degree information instead. This seems to be a touchy subject\u00a0when researching what information to provide. A lot of emphasis was put on the\u00a0topic that it should be should be common knowledge you have a Masters Degree. I\u00a0disagree with this from two points. One not everyone\u2019s degree is the same i.e. MLIS,\u00a0MLS, MIS, and MS to name a few. Two many of us have particular concentrations.<\/p>\n

My business card includes my degree, the year I graduated and my concentrations\u00a0archives and preservation for example.<\/strong> Other suggestions were to have a mini resume\u00a0or skill set put on the card if you don\u2019t have much information to include. I have seen\u00a0varied examples of business cards that include all of the examples I have mentioned\u00a0and Hack School Library<\/a> had a great post from last year about your first business\u00a0card. Good Luck with your business cards and feel free to post a picture or any advice\u00a0about your business card in the comments.<\/p>\n

Here is a list of some of my favorite sites to order business cards from:<\/p>\n