eric rochow : social media handyman

I’m a big follower of chris brogan, who could write a book about how to meet and network.

And in the vein of imitation being flattery, I’m going to write more about how to network and how not to network.

At podcampNY, bunches of people came up and talked to me. One of the first things most did was hand me their business card. Its ironic, that we are with this group of forward thinking Web 2.0 types, and we use this 19th century analog calling card.

But it serves a crucial purpose. Well several really.

1. It give you both something to do with your hands. Ever notice how people fidget when talking, put an object in the hand, and it stops.

2. Name reinforcement. I blank almost immediately on most people’s names. But if I have their card to look down at, I see their name spelled out, and for some reason, it sticks better in my head.

3. Follow up: Empty your pockets after the conference, and sort thru them, I am much better at putting a face to the name this way. Enter them in to your address book, or just zing them a ‘thanks’ email.

What NOT to do.

I met a person after a session, who was engaging and wanted to talk further about possible collaboration. They handed me their card, and I moved on to other people I needed to speak with before the next session.

Afterward, I looked at the card. Its blank except for the name of their website.

Now this may be cool in a design sense, or like those minimalist design firms with monosyllabic names, but it does me NO good. I can’t remember the person’s name. I went to the website, and sure there is a generic contact email address, but why do I have to go thru all this just to reach out to someone who approached me?

Go to Vista Print and get some cards made, its easy and cheap. ( They will inundate you with sales emails, so use an email alias when ordering )

And please, put some contact info on the card, and hand them out all the time. One never knows.