After spending time at DLD and Davos meeting hundreds of people I gave away no business cards. Nothing new there.
But I also received far fewer than ever. And I finally saw one Innovation: a guy had a little printed memopad of business card tearsheets. Less paper.
I took a picture of his details sheet anyway and that gave me an idea: obviously there should be a Little app you open on your phone that just displays your business card. No typing or anything, since that Kills the conversational momentum. The other person takes a picture – the fastest thing you can do on a phone is take a picture. Not even “add me in WhatsApp” is faster.
Here is the even better idea: your phone lock screen should be that image. At conferences perhaps you turn it on (or just always). Just make a picture of your business card your lock screen. Let the person you meet take a picture.
Will try and report back after…SxSW.