Ask HN: Are you still using business cards or which alternatives have you tried?

2 points by gego 4 years ago | 7 comments

Recently I had to decide if we would be using traditional paper business cards or something different (and perhaps even eco friendly). It seems that in Europe and especially parts of Asia people still expect business cards and not alternatives... some we thought of were:

Card with info printed on but also on nf and as a qr code (or with fancy conductive ink)

Goodies like USB Sticks/cards with pre prepared stuff

Useful everyday items like... aluminium Multitool cards, post it, bottle openers (not great for formal settings) or whatnot

Coins, wooden forms, alu poker chips and other alternative shapes and materials

Nothing-> exchange via mobile

Anyone has experiences or ideas on alternatives that engage?

tdhz77 4 years ago |

Business cards are much better than exchanging information. You can slide the card and continue talking about a topic without pausing and discussing numbers.

gego 4 years ago | |

good point - you are basically arguing against extravagant alternatives that would break the flow of conversation as people are so cute sed to seeing and taking business cards - what I fear is that the automatic reaction continues after a meeting by dumping them all ...

tdhz77 4 years ago | | |

iOS 15 camera with text highlighting is a killer feature here, and maybe people will start taking pictures of business cards to get info before discarded. Maybe an app idea here, idk.

gregjor 4 years ago |

A box of decent quality business cards doesn’t cost enough to put a lot of thought into, unless you work with people like Patrick Bateman.

Gimmicks don’t fit into business card holders or wallets. You can’t scan a poker chip or USB stick into a contacts app. I wouldn’t put a random USB stick or scan a QR code into my phone or computer. Unless you work with wood or metal for a living stick with paper.

__d 4 years ago |

I added a QR code on mine.

It saves you having to type all the stuff in, or check the scanning was accurate, or whatever.

It just goes to a simple page, with a picture and contact details, and then links for email, vCard, LinkedIn, GitHub, etc.

beardyw 4 years ago |

When I die I want my unused business cards used to build a mausoleum.

gego 4 years ago |

Thx - some good points made here!