Just recently we had an upcoming event several of us were attending and, “We need some new business cards for all of us!” Paul exclaimed.

He was right, of course. Right?

It had been a while since we had new cards in the office and only a handful of our team members had the old ones. I was somewhat annoyed at the idea of spending any effort on business cards. In this day and age, they seem pretty wasteful.

In fact, I can only think of 2 scenarios in which I would typically exchange business cards:

1. At a meeting where I already have the contact’s info because we have been exchanging emails.
2. A networking function where I may take a picture of the card with my phone then discard it into the trash with the rest.

Despite my disdain, and with events coming up, it seemed like a necessity despite knowing that it was completely impractical. So, Jon went ahead with designing them (and me persistently stressing that they’re silly and shouldn’t involve much effort). He whipped something up pretty quickly.

I was somewhat ambivalent to the design initially because of my prejudice against business cards in the digital age. While I liked the concept, I noticed that they were square and I couldn’t help but think how ridiculous it was that they wouldn’t fit into a wallet. But, despite all of this, the team was adamant about getting them so I let the order rip.

About a week later they arrived. I broke my box open, pulled out a few cards and liked what I saw. I mean, I really liked the design. They were thick and different from a standard business card. Over the weeks my appreciation of the new cards increased immensely. Don’t get me wrong, I still think business cards in the digital age are silly. However, if you are going to bother having a business card in these times, having ones like ours are perfect, for 3 simple reasons, in order of importance, from least to greatest:

3. Versatility – Our cards have proven highly versatile and with the sheer number you get per order, this is awfully important. Take a look at the gallery to see just a handful of the ways we have put them to really good use:

2. Differentiation – I haven’t given out a ton of these cards but, I have noticed that the people that I have given them to have remarked how cool and different they are. It’s up to us as individuals to stand out and make an impression and it only makes sense to have a business card that follows suit.

1. Membership – Current surveys out in the bullpen show that the cards give team members a sense of pride and belonging. That’s really why they needed to be unique because, honestly, who wants to be a part of something average?

Happy Friday.