Business Card: the evolution

Seven square inches, that’s all the geography that tradition (and conventions) has allowed us to occupy for connected, business information. Fourteen if you utilize the back of a business card.

It’s a testament to the effect a good business card has in this digital day and age. If you have a great business card – design, stock, maybe even letterpress – it can garner quite a bit of attention, and even some envy.

A simple piece of paper

Where did business cards start and where are they today? At one point a business card was just that – about the business. They were done before there was personal connection technology, i.e., telephones (in any configuration), fax, e-mail, twitter, etc. It was an opportunity to, in a limited amount of real estate, let people know about your business. The only connection information would have been the owners’ name and business location.

The first business card I ever had was one I did for myself in high school. I did calligraphy, I wanted to make some extra cash, I made some business cards. Here’s what it contained – Scott McMann, Calligraphy, phone number (oh, and a note about contacting me after 5pm). That’s it, that’s all it had, that was all it needed. Nobody needed to know where I was doing this (in the basement), and there was no other information to divulge, mainly because it didn’t exist in 1980.

Getting my first business card (at a firm) was one of the most exciting days of working. It said I belong, that I was worth getting a business card for, it was amazing. That was 1986 and the firm was Terra Media. It moved up the information ladder, it had my name, title, phone number (no extension, we had a real, live person answering phones) and the address and company name. As many people will tell you there have been many places of employment for me since then. Some I think back on fondly, others not so much.

But the business card has changed and not changed over that timeframe. The size is basically the same. Although, sometimes I do design them a bit smaller. The content has changed drastically. We’re getting to a point where it might be too much info, too many ways to keep in contact and too much stuff:

Name, Degrees, Associations, Title, Address, Phone Number, Fax Number, Mobile, E-mail, Twitter, Web site, Facebook, LinkedIn, Logo, Tagline, Photo, Map, Coupon, Services offered – I’m sure you could add to this list based on cards you have seen.

Ultimately we want to connect with people – and the business card is one of the last paper artifacts that is still relavant and resonates – so it best be a great business card. But in terms of getting people your info – a vCard does the trick – but is it enough?

What should a business card do?

 

Where did imagination go?

First, I want to define for you what Imagination is for me: a gap! It’s the gap between what exists and what doesn’t exist.

Imagination helped get people to the moon, it helped create movable type, it filled the gap between promise and product, between ah ha and cha-ching. It’s still around, that imagination thing, it’s just a touch harder to find.

Culprit: Lego

Sure, there are other thieves out there – but this is the big one. Remember when Lego was just multi-coloured, multi-shaped bricks. There was the occasional motor, roof, door or wheels, but for the most part bricks. Lots of bricks. Blue, red, yellow, fours, sixes, flat ones that always hurt to pry apart with your fingernails. And those bricks could be whatever you wanted them to be – they were the gap between an idea and finished. Spaceships, cars, offices, etc. – it didn’t matter what we made. We made it first in our heads.

Today you can still get a tub of Lego – but when you can barely find the link, it means very few ‘kids’ are getting just the bricks. They are instead getting Harry Potter, Star Wars, Disney’s Cars – and many other branded versions of Lego. Even the non-branded packages are specific build projects. For instance this product has very unique parts – allowing you to configure the pictured items. And, that’s what most kids seem to want, a step-by-step guide to being creative. Or, maybe it’s the parents. Now, let’s be clear, I’m not saying all kids are like this, although it seems that we want ready made creative.

Now, full disclosure – Lego has now an Architecture series. And I would love to have most of the buildings, most notably the Robie House by (perhaps the great architect in history) Frank Lloyd Wright. But, as much as I would love to have that Lego version of a classic – I’d almost rather build it from existing bricks.

I think as long as we are short cutting the creative process by offering pre-packaged solutions we are stunting the growth of imagination in kids, and thus future adults.

What’s your take on imagination and youth?

Make your own story!

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Today is the day for hockey fans, especially in Canada. It’s trade deadline for the NHL (if you want to have those players available for the playoffs). Or as Leafs fans call it – we traded for who? Really?

Growing up I don’t really remember trade deadlines. I’m sure they happened, there just didn’t seem to be a big deal made about it, at least for the fans. Not so today. A number of sports-only channels are gearing up for NHL Trade Deadline. Hell, they even have special graphics.

Blanket the media

Leading the pack, in Canada, is TSN (related to ESPN), which has almost single-handedly created sports days out of thin air. They’ve made much ado about said trade deadline, free-agent day, draft day and of course curling. To top it off TSN is finally in an all-media position. They are as close to vertical in distributing this information as it can get. They’re going to be on the air (both TSN and TSN radio – not to mention having access to the CTV network for breaking news trades), the Web (their own website, Facebook, again related CTV website feeds) as well as Twitter (tweet updates and re-tweets all day) short of out-of-home and print – they pretty much have it locked down.

A new era

This is what it looks like when you want to own a segment today. You need to own the segment. You need to also make it so that people can’t avoid the segment. You need to be hounding people for weeks leading up to the trade deadline, you need to be in full barrage mode on the day. You need to make it so that people need to know – checking the web site, Facebook, Twitter – online and mobile. It becomes a race to see who at the office can not only find out first about a trade – but tweet or re-tweet it first – the new bragging rights.

Will you be checking for trade updates today?

Monkey see, monkey text

There’s been a lot of discussion lately on whether or not social media is helping the customer control the brand. My overall opinion is no, it is not. What it is doing is creating digital chaperones. And it didn’t start with social media, it’s just the latest incarnation of civic chaperones. There was a time when you knew everybody around you, your tribe for lack of a better description. And, more importantly, they knew you – they knew your parents, etc. Society as it was had a sense of accountability built in – and it was 360°. You could not escape the accountability, and you also had everyone else being accountable to you – it was quite symbiotic.

As time passed and our society changed we came to be in a position of not knowing our neighbours – whether it be at work, play or at home. We have far more people in our lives, our days are filled with myriad activities and we are bombarded with massive amounts of information. It’s no wonder we have lost that sense of connection with the people around us.

Hello social media

And by social media I mean all the new stuff – YouTube, Twitter, Facebook. Media and being social has been around for a while – even cave paintings are a social media of sorts. But, today’s social media has the added new features of immediacy, engagement and reach. This means that viral videos can reach a million views in hours. Social media turned communication into a two-way conversation again – maybe not equal, but a two-way conversation none-the-less.

An interesting side effect

I think the one thing that people didn’t count on with social media was the resurrection (to a degree) of accountability.

Even more fascinating is that I believe that it is a two-way accountability – not unlike being in tribes. Yes, we have all heard of United break guitar, Papa Johns Pizza, Dominos Pizza, etc. – any situation that had the David, the consumer, holding Goliath accountable. It’s social media that has allowed this to really play out – mainly because David is no longer in the battle alone.

But, I don’t see this as the only accountability aspect. I see that we, as a tribe, have the opportunity to make accountability ubiquitous. How many people during the recent Riots in Vancouver and London were revealed because of social media. A promising water polo player for Canada was exposed and subsequently removed from the national team because he was caught on a cell phone camera. Now, that’s not to say that people didn’t do stuff like that before – they did, they’re just being held to answer for it more often.

With this also comes the the trait of being an enabler – a side-effect of accountability. To enable in this use of the word – is to not stop, or make know your position known. It’s the equivalent of walking past and letting someone else deal with it. Whether it be litter, a fight or whatever else can be enabled. One of the biggest culprits – Facebook. I have a niece that has posted pictures online of her and her friends drinking. They’ve posted countless photos from parties, basements, all showing the group doing shots, drinking beer, etc. These photos have been making their way online for about two, maybe three years – she’s 18. Eighteen, and has been posted photos of underage drinking for quite a while. How do I know this – because my Wife is friends with our niece on Facebook – that’s how.

So, as we sit and do nothing – we enable – we make accountability a none factor. Should we stand up and point these things out – or are we to let these traits and behaviours blossom. That is always a tough call. But deep down, maybe we need to enact accountability for people we love as much as brands we hate (or at least feel slighted by).

Has social media changed how you see events unfold?

The verbs that define us

Verb – a word used to describe an action, state, or occurrence, and forming the main part of the predicate of a sentence, such as hear, become, happen.

Our light-speed society has been adding verbs all the time. That’s kind of how language (at least English) works. As new things are invented, or new processes – we need new words. Or as stated, if you’re adding to the English language – just ‘borrow’ words from other languages. For a while we were using computer terms as verbs – I was just networking, we should interface, etc.

The new – amazing marketing – angle is when your product becomes the verb. And it’s not even intentional, I’m pretty sure it’s not. I’m going to Google that person, because I’m sure they Photoshopped that image, Jim just tweeted about it.

What a fantastic place to be in – from a company standpoint. You made a great product, people used it, people started adding to their lexicon. Here’s how you know you’ve reached mass acceptance – when people use the term but not the product – like Photoshop. Yes, lots of people use Adobe Photoshop – but everyone* knows what it means to Photoshop an image.

*everyone is defined as my Dad

You want to be part of the next big thing. You want to be the brand and the category – best spend some time working on the name. Because if it doesn’t roll off the tongue – it may not catch on.

What’s your favourite new verb?

Life has a new scoreboard!

There’s a new hobby in town. It used to be land, then people, then money (I guess it still is), then stamps, then friends, now fuel.

NikeFuel is the new collectable – the social media hobby. There are some that think that interactions like Facebook are a popularity contest, I say no – they are hobbies, they turn us into collectors. Although this particular iteration of social media will be a game changer, me thinks.

Egalitarian

No longer is the world of Nike about celebrating the elite athlete (or is it?), they’re now including you and me – and maybe your mom too. The NikeFuel system allows anybody to track their action – whatever it may be.

Social

NikeFuel is a new way to look at social – where FourSquare allowed us to become a Mayor because of frequency, this is about movement – regardless of where that movement takes place. But, make no mistake, this is still on the collection-side of social – points are earned, shared, challenged. Just check out the social media part of the NikeFuel web site.

Guerilla

A colleague at the office wondered why now – one word, Olympics. Nike has not been a sponsor of the last few Olympics per se – oh, they sponsor their athletes (who in turn wear Nike logos on International broadcasts). But now Nike gets to be an immersive part of the Olympics – allowing us to not only cheer on the athletes, but to track their numbers. We get to see how heavy the lift is as a World-class athlete.

Product or not

More than anything, Nike has made a product that promotes activity, tracks activity, shares activity and they don’t really care in whose shoes you do it. Well, I bet they care a little – but if you have a NikeFuel band and your iPhone – you’re set and Phil Knight will be somewhat happy.

Monetize

Nike, or any other sports supplier, has worked over the years to get people into their products. To associate high-level performance with their equipment, their sponsored athletes or teams, or whatever else motivates you to make the purchase. Where NikeFuel is brilliant is in its ability to monetize activity – plane and simple. The previous Nike attempt was with a shoe, chip and iPod – it was good, this is better. As long as someone is wearing the band, activity is being recorded – your points are going up – your friends will be aware.

Data

In this data-driven day and age, the kind of data that this has the potential to collect is mind-blowing. What will be done with all that data – data that we are freely supplying. I don’t know if Nike has thought that far ahead – hell, it’s Nike – of course they have. But, that is the kind of data to drool over. Just think how that data can be used to just be an incentive to participants – earn your next product with points. Whereas Air Miles you pay for with money – Nike may have created true sweat equity.

Demand

Having dinner with with my buddy Darryl last night, I described the NikeFuel product. Before I could really explain what it was he stopped me and said – Where can i get one? And true to marketing Nike has sold out of their current stock (online at least). And on top of that they’re not available in the great white north (Canada) as of yet. It’s like they’re taking a page out of the Nikon playbook – create the demand – throttle the supply.

That’s how I see the world of NikeFuel – I think that it’s going to change things. I think that people and companies will see the world in a different light when it comes to social media. And Nike just showed the way.

Are you looking to get active?

Why do we do what we do?

The old adage for any industry (although it seems perfect for Marketing/Advertising/Design) is as follows: Price, Quality, Speed – Pick any two. The point of course is that you can’t have all three – and the one not chosen will be heavily influenced by the two selected. This of course is the question we’re suppose to ask the client. Or the question we get asked when we commission artwork or services. But what about the question we ask our self when starting a project.

Why are we doing this project? And I’ve narrowed it down to three choices for the art side of business.

Profit

First and foremost we are in a business, like any business, and when we get to the end of the year – we should have more money than we started the year (once all expenses have been paid of course). Without a profit you can’t keep doing what you do – period. And after time when your value warrants it – you’ll hopefully be making more money, for doing the same kind of projects – it’s just the expertise thing.

Portfolio

So, if you can’t make the profit you would like on a project, then it best be a project that adds value to your portfolio. Creating award-winning pieces helps to build awareness – which builds expertise – which puts you in demand – which adds to your profits.

Passion (or Purpose if you will)

The top two can be forgiven if the project resonates with us in some kind of passion (or, as Tim Sanders explains – purpose). Be it political, humanitarian, ecological, etc. – it really doesn’t matter. As long as we can help with whatever cause or theme – that is the reason we do somethings – we do it because to us, it matters.

Now, for this question we need only hit one of these points – you can do it for Profit, Portfolio or Passion. If you can do a project for two of them – say profit and portfolio – already way better. And, if the heavens parted and you worked on a project that had all three – man, hello motherlode. And depending on your age and how long you have been in the industry – you might be aiming for portfolio first. Or if you tend to be a bleeding-heart type person – maybe passion is first on your list.

Regardless of which is top of your list – you best be doing any project for one of those reasons. Because, if you’re doing a project that doesn’t hit any of these P’s – then I have to ask – why are you doing it?

What drives your choice in projects?

Dad, welcome to social media

I’ve mentioned my Dad a few times in these musings. And I’ll be doing that again today.

My dad just opened a Twitter account. Not because he felt he had something to share, it was because of one person – Sarah Brightman. As soon as my Dad found out she was on Twitter (or at least someone in her entourage sending on Sarah’s behalf) he was hooked up.

Now what?

That was the question he asked me after creating the account. Now what? Well it really depends on what part of the social media equation you are on, want to be on, or care to be on. If you’re a bit older and news and information has been a controlled, one-way conversation – you’ll most likely follow more than be followed. If you believe that you’ll create content and add to the communications dialogue – you’ll have more followers.

I think that as much as there is the ability to create content, add to the conversation or maybe be an iReporter – we still need to have receptors, people that are the consumers of this content.

Which side of the conversation are you on?

Plug the leak, or maybe not

There are many rumour sites for Apple products, and they toggle between outright rumours/guesses and actual news stories (product releases, high-level personnel changes, etc.).

It’s fascinating that we are still captured by the rumours of up-coming Apple products. All the talk about features, software additions (and subtractions) and most importantly the all important future product shots. The current rumour du jour is on the new (and even more amazing) iPad screen with retina to the power of retina resolution, which would be awesome. There are even photos supporting all the speculation. And, you’d think that with a few vendors producing components for any Apple product that there would be even more leaked photos and stories. But, you’d also think that as secretive and cash rich as Apple is that they could quash any rumour faster than a HP Tablet is discontinued.

Five years ago that might have been the case. They might have unleashed the legal beast, and it would have almost gotten to court, some deal would be reached – end of story. But the more that Apple (or any company – think record labels) goes after anything that ultimately puts their corporate personality in the negative – it can be bad for business. Yes, Apple was very keen to have returned a couple of misplaced iPhones, but these were actual products, not the stuff of speculation, not the stuff of rumours.

Today, Apple understands that to be litigious about these rumours is to kill an ad channel. Some of the rumours might be correct, some are wildly off base. But every time one of these stories is written – it’s another mention for Apple – PR you can’t buy. Or can you? My guess (rumour) would be that some of the leaks are not leaks per se – but carefully placed kindle (feels good to use that word in relation to Apple, hehe). Ultimately the rumours – whether they are right or not – are irrelevant compared to keeping Apple in the forefront of thought for their consumers.

What’s your take?

Power connections

The medium is the message – Marshall McLuhan

Many derivatives have been born from this, many. Today we are very aware of this statement from 1964. Although, I believe Marshall’s almost dismissal of content was a bit off target. They work hand-in-hand – they’re reliant on each other. But as we move towards one screen – regardless of where that screen is – or what its size (mobile vs. tablet vs. home theatre) – content is what we’re after. The medium – although important – is becoming the invisible conduit.

The real difference maker today, and even more so in the future is accessing content. Or, specifically, where is that content residing? Because if we are to truly be in the land of one screen, that one screen better have access to what we want, and be up-to-date. And that content will be a combination of work, personal and third party (tv, movies, blogs, etc.).

The cloud

A magical place that is very hard to explain in terms of security, location and access to some people. I’ll call those people my Dad, and maybe your Mom, and, well, a lot of people. It’s amazing how somewhat full circle this whole computer thing is turning out to be. Before desktops, computers were large mainframes in a specialized area of a company – accessed by dumb terminals (meaning that they were just workstations, no data sat locally – as in, at your desk). Then the world went PC (and PC, but that’s another story) and moved the data locally, the applications locally, you know – to your desk. Which created a multitude of departments and companies (think IT and MicroSoft). Will the cloud change that? I’m sure it will.

But

Now comes the important part – so much data, security and expertise is required – companies are not looking to have their own cloud – some might – but with the existing services out there (and ready to go) why would they. Here’s the lock down – how easy will it be to port your data (even as an individual) from one cloud platform to another? From DropBox to Box.net to iCloud to CloudDrive.

Storage is the new bank – content is the currency.

Where are you making your deposits?