The ritual of exchanging business cards is nowhere more sacred than in Japan. When two Japanese, in complete formal attire, meet for the first time, they ceremoniously exchange their pristine business cards. Not a wallet, but an expensive looking metal cardholder contains them. They bow deeply and accept the card with both hands. Each slowly scrutinizes the business card, reading every word on it as if it were a Haiku. This is also the trigger for icebreaking and small talk. This sacred ritual is called Meishi-Koukan (card swapping). Along with masks, social distancing, handwashing, the Japanese government also recommended an online Meishi-Koukan.
For the Japanese, the card is like a gift, and the gifting
is mutual. If a foreigner forgets giving a business card (a Japanese never will),
it is an offence akin to not shaking a proffered hand.
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Sansan
has started virtual cards where smartphones can swap the QR (Quick Response) codes.
The software also allows a Japanese worker to send all virtual cards to his boss.
The boss wants to know whom you have met.
It is said a business card is your face. The Japanese
company Nagaya has taken this literally. It has produced Meishi masks
where your visiting card details are printed on your mask. The 100% cotton,
three-layer Meishi masks are available online for Yen 1500 ($14), in three
different models: “reception mask”, “sales mask” and “business activity mask”.
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The cards are an ancient product that started in China
in the fifteenth century. The Chinese introduced calling cards to let people
know of their planned visit. By the seventeenth century, European traders had
developed trade cards that served as small advertisements of their businesses.
In later centuries, the upper classes in Europe
carried a visiting card/calling card. One side contained the person’s
information, and the reverse side was for handwritten messages. When you
visited someone, didn’t find the person home, you would leave your card with a handwritten
message. As per etiquette, if the card was left with its corner turned, it
meant the card had been left in person and not by a servant.
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The card represents the quality of the person and the
company. It creates the first impression. The card’s visual appeal, thick
paper, background colour, fonts are part of the brand appeal. Some super-wealthy
Chinese were rumoured to carry cards made of gold. Who wouldn’t want to do
business with a guy who gives you a 24-carat business card?
McDonalds executives have their cards shaped like French
fries. A Kodak manager, a friend of mine, always complained nobody forgets him
because his photo was on his business card. A Canadian divorce lawyer has a
business card that can be torn in half – one for each spouse. Mark Zuckerburg’s
first business card simply read: “I’m CEO, bitch”. Well, Zuckerburg could afford
to have a card like that.
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I have a habit of writing the date and time of the
meeting on the back of every business card I receive. Now when I look at my visiting
card albums from the 1990s, many cards resurrect memories of the person, and
the history surrounding the meeting.
Several attempts have been made to replace business
cards with something virtual. A Californian company Bump technology had
developed an app that allowed two smartphones to tap and the contact details
would be swapped.
The demise of the business card has long been
predicted, with the rise of LinkedIn and smartphones. However, the card has
lasted for more than five centuries, through world wars and pandemics. It will be
interesting to see if it survives the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ravi
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