What on your Shelf?

In trying to come up with a theme for my blog entry today I put it to my friends on Face Book. The responses ranged from Helping Haiti to the use of Technology like Exchange mail, sync between pda and desktop in real time, voice mail to email and so on. The responses made my head spin! So I decided to clean up the office a bit to try and get rid my headache. In doing so I came across about 1,000 business cards that I have accumulated from BNI, Chamber and general networking meetings over the last several years.

Then it dawned on me! Today’s entry would be on Technology, not the latest but one of the oldest that people still can’t use correctly!! Business Cards! Why do business owners, sales people and just about everyone hand then out and never use then for what they are intended for.

Wikipedia, the online free encyclopedia, defines Business cards as “cards bearing business information about a company or individual. They are shared during formal introductions as a convenience and a memory aid.”

Well let’s put that to the test. When I get a business card I always follow up in a day or two. Most people don’t remember me even then. I guess I should be insulted! I would say about a good 50% don’t answer with their name or that of their business. They try to keep that a secret when you call… WHY? Why bother handing someone your card? Do they hope you don’t call?

So this is the Project. I am going to call all 1000 people whose cards were on my shelf. To the right on this page I will keep a running tab on the number I have left to call, the ones out of business already or switch jobs, the ones that want to actually grow in this “bad economic” climate and those that even bother to call back!

This should be interesting… Not sure what I will accomplish but I’ll start off the conversation with “What’s New?”