I barely saw any business cards change hands, but I (personally) have a heaps of new twitter followers/followees and a bunch of new facebook friends. This lead me to the question; do Gen-Y prefer social networks to business cards?

The person that told me this was bragging about the guys he got business cards from… I wonder if he’ll get home and start calling CIOs?

I think they’ll go in his rolodex and any chance of a relationship with it.

I have business cards, I even had a stack with me, but when I think about it; having someone on my social network(s) suits me more.

Why?

For me, it’s about commitment, building a relationship and convenience.

It is assumed that I will have things in common with most other attendees of a conference I attend, but if I meet someone, have a short chat – a few things in common – then end it by exchanging cards, the chances are high that I will not build a relationship with that person after the conference. However, if I add that person to Twitter and Facebook on the spot; it is highly likely that I will converse with them again. Having them in these networks means there is no commitment to interact, as with “Yeah, I’ll give you a call,” but there is an opportunity.

A business card generally contains an email address and phone number as the two primary points of contact, but I find ringing someone I met at a conference a little intrusive unless there is prior “permission” to do so. Addressing something they post on twitter/blog/facebook however is an acceptable way to build a relationship with someone. It also allows you to mine the interests and specialities of those that you meet to build better relationships.

We’ve all met the person at a conference who wants something off you, but has very little intention of it being a 2-way relationship. They want an introduction to a member of your network because they want to hassle them for employment, and they will pester you until you give that to them. Once you have, you won’t hear from them again until they need something else off you. Do you really want that person to have your phone number? I’d prefer them to contact me via a social network where I can respond when I am ready to, on my terms.

Now I realise that if someone gives you a business card you can go and look them up, but I would argue (especially with the number of iPhone’s I saw) that (virtually) everybody there was able to easily access the internet from their chosen mobile device, so why make it difficult. As people in technology, we are always connected so let’s use that to build better, stronger relationships within our network.

Hell, I don’t even own a rolodex.