I miss the days when networking meant a real handshake and a business card, not scanning a QR code on someone's phone.

Went to a local meetup in Austin last night and realized nobody even brought business cards anymore, everyone just waved their phones at each other like they were paying at a gas station, has anyone else noticed how much less you actually remember about a person when you don't swap a physical card?

3 comments

3 Comments

blair5972mo ago

Totally get what you mean. I went to a hardware supplier meetup a few months back and it was the same thing, everyone just tapping phones. I missed the old way where you'd actually look someone in the eye, shake their hand, and hand them a card. You remember a lot more about a person when you physically give them something, their name, their face, even the feel of the paper. Now it's just a quick scan and you're onto the next person, no real connection made. Feels like we're losing a little bit of the human part of meeting folks.

grantmartinez2mo ago

Maybe it's just me but digital scanning actually saves time and lets you focus on the conversation instead of fumbling with paper.

the_faith1mo ago

Paper cards? I'm pretty sure that feel of the paper is just 30% recycled cardstock and 70% pure anxiety about losing them all by lunch. @grantmartinez is probably out there scanning QR codes with his eyes closed, missing the sacred ritual of watching someone try to read your name off a smudged business card.