Are Business Cards Dying?

My first reaction was “Of course I need business cards.” That’s how you do business. But then I started to think of how I use the business cards I receive.

• I put them in my pocket or notebook.
• I add them on LinkedIn/Twitter when I get back and then the card goes in a drawers somewhere.
• I pull one out once in a while to get contact info.
• I forget who the person was 2 months later and throw their card away.

This guy would argue that your business card is crap:

So Should I Still Have Business Cards?

I’m really a bit torn here, so I’d appreciate your comments. If you support business cards, give me links to a good printer who can turn the job over in a week. If you don’t use business cards I’m interested in hearing what alternatives you might suggest (like Pokens).

PS If you decide business cards are obsolete, you could make them into modified ninja throwing stars like the kid in this video. (Warning: Awesomeness may overload your brain!)

The Evidence

iPad – Runs for 10 hours
PPC – Runs 24 hrs/day, 7 days/week, 365 days/year (or any combination of hours, days & weeks you choose)

iPad – Plug in through the proprietary Apple docking port
PPC – Plug into your Analytics for better metrics, connect it with your SEO and email marketing to improve copy or plug in through an API

iPad – Have a problem? Only Apple can fix it (that includes changing the battery)
PPC – Have a problem? Fix it yourself or have any company you want fix it

iPad – Name could be confused for a feminine hygiene product
PPC – Name can be misheard as “Paper Clip” instead of “Pay-Per-Click”

iPad – Maybe a few million users by this time next year
PPC – Millions of PPC ads are seen EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

There you have it folks. What would you add?

The Rumble in the Blog Comments

This mega-fight is one of those occasions where you get a hungry up-and-coming competitor calling out and established legend. Scoble established his reputation years ago as an evangelist for Microsoft. He was like Darth Vader, but from Return of the Jedi where you actually kinda like him. He’s an established figure in the industry and carries a lot of influence. Therefore, when he posted this blog: “2010: the year SEO isn’t important anymore?” (question mark included) a lot of people weren’t too happy.

Lisa Barone was one of those people, but she didn’t take this one lying down. She went public with a challenge post titled “Ignore the Silly Man, SEO Still Matters For SMBs“. With everything set up, Scoble came out swinging right from the bell.

Round 1

Scoble led with a strong “you missed the point” argument, saying that businesses shouldn’t focus on only SEO. Lisa blocked with an “I didn’t attack you” and countered with a “you’re pretending SEO hasn’t changed in 5 years”. They traded a few jabs, but Lisa takes the round by getting Scoble to take offense at being called a silly man.

Round 2

In this round Lisa tries to slow down the pace by focusing the fight on the headline of Scoble’s post. However, Scoble has no interest in slowing down and keeps swinging for the fences, even throwing an “idiot” into the mix. Lisa again tries to slow things down, but Robert keeps up the pace, even blocking a commenter on Twitter. The frantic pace continues throughout the round with plenty of blows hitting their mark, but in the end Scoble steals Round 2 on sheer persistence.

Round 3

In this the final round we’re treated to even more fast-paced action with Scoble sticking with his “the title was a question” defense and jabbing with his “I just wanted to start a discussion”. Lisa gets a big boost from her corner as Rae Hoffman changes the title tag of Lisa’s post to include Scoble’s name and moves it into the top 100 Google results for Robert Scoble. While Scoble is distracted, Lisa unleashes the haymaker by calling out George Revutsky’s “I’m disappointed Scoble used our interview this way” comment.

The referee calls the fight at 2:30 of the 3rd round for our winner, Lisa Barone!

Photo by markhillary

The Ad

If the image is too small for you, it says “Hideous, obnoxious condos – www.redlodge.com – lousy snow, lame nightlife and surly locals want your cash now”. And yes, my friend did click the ad, which goes to this very normal page about ski lodges. There are two possible reasons for this ad.

Reason #1: A Bold PPC Strategy

My friend clicked the ad because he just had to know what was on the other side of such a negative ad. We are so accustomed to ads that are positive and are trying to sell us something. Want to stand out from the crowd? Write ads that criticize your product. Your conversion rates might not be very good, but the CTR should be healthy.

Reason #2: Disgruntled PPC Manager

More likely is the theory that someone at the Red Lodge made their PPC manager (or someone with access to the PPC campaign) very, very angry. In revenge, they changed the PPC ads. Simple, yet effective at making your old boss pay (literally). So what do you think? Bold PPC strategy or disgruntled employee?

Get Lucky PJs

Honestly, look how happy that guy is to be wearing his very own Get Lucky Flannel PJs. Truly a must have for the holiday season.