9
Had a talk with a seasoned event planner in Buckhead that changed how I think about business cards
Met this woman at a mixer near Lenox Square last Tuesday. She said she's been in the game since the 90s and still swaps physical cards at every event. I was ready to argue that QR codes and LinkedIn are way faster. But she pulled out this thick stack of cards she'd collected over the years and pointed out how each one had a memory tied to it. A scribbled note on the back. A coffee stain from a first meeting. It hit me different because she wasn't wrong. I've had digital contacts vanish when someone changes jobs or deletes their profile. Has anyone else noticed a real difference sticking with paper over digital at events?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
angela7282d ago
Yeah I read something recently about how your brain actually processes physical objects differently than digital ones. Something about the HAPTIC feedback of holding a card or a record or a book triggers a stronger memory encoding. That event planner sounds like she knew what she was talking about. I've got business cards from like 8 years ago in a shoebox in my closet and I can still tell you the event and the person's face when I look at one. Meanwhile I couldn't tell you a single thing about the 500 LinkedIn connections I added last year. That vinyl comparison is spot on too. My uncle has the same thing with his old baseball cards. The digital stuff just doesn't stick the same way.
3
the_rose2d ago
Physical things just stick with us better in a digital world.
2
andrew_baker92d ago
Usually you remember where you got a physical thing or who gave it to you. Like I can still picture the exact day I picked up my copy of Dune from a used bookstore back in college. Digital files just kind of blur together in a folder somewhere on your phone or laptop. There's no context with them, no memory of the moment attached. That's why I still buy vinyl records even though I stream music constantly. They take up space and you have to actually handle them, which makes the music feel more real somehow.
2