Calling cards

[Livingston]

I'm curious MoR if convention, in the case of my first name, Laurie, could be bent a bit to allow the use of Mr. I often get mail adressed to me as if I am female, and while that is not the end of the earth it does add an explanatory step. On a social card it would be far easier to use Mr. than to introduce if not confusion, at least uncertainty.

Laurie

I would think that you could use first initial and middle name instead.


And, I should mention that I use my card mainly as a quasi business card while discussing possible jobs during my job hunt.

[dfmacliam]

I have used simple cards in the past, much like MOR's social cards but with a corner dedicated to a service I provided... It was not necessarily a business card but a side note. Staples is a good source of card services

[sydnie7]

I would think that you could use first initial and middle name instead. [snip]

Seems to defeat the purpose, when you prefer to go by your first name (adrogynous as it may be). As a female named Sydnie, working in the male-dominated service end of the automotive business, I have many stories to go along with those of "Mr. Laurie." In my case, it was sometimes an advantage, but there were other times I felt the need to correct the confusion in the early stages of a written exchange.

[Standard]

A few years ago I bought a nice little book about calling cards as seen here: http://www.amazon.com/Victoria-Calli.../dp/0688114008 The book has examples of plain to very fancy and involved cards. I've not had any sort of calling card (other than of course business cards) in some years, I think I might need to remedy that situation.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

I'm curious MoR if convention, in the case of my first name, Laurie, could be bent a bit to allow the use of Mr. I often get mail adressed to me as if I am female, and while that is not the end of the earth it does add an explanatory step. On a social card it would be far easier to use Mr. than to introduce if not confusion, at least uncertainty.

Laurie

Sure, if you feel that, under the circumstances, it makes for better social interaction then go ahead and do it. My friend Leslie Arthur Johnstone side-stepped the issue by including his middle name on his cards for that exact reason.

[RB51]

Thanks, I've got some options now.

Laurie

[SteveB]

I have had printed cards for various occasions.
For running into kilties and potential kilties, I have one that reads "you have been greeted by (next line) SteveB (next line) www.xmarksthescot.com. centered on the card. My full name and location are across the bottom of the card.
I have a simple calling card with my name and snail mail address for fellow old timers.
I have a calling card with my name, and xmarks, myspace, facebook, and dunsire forum screen names/addresses for the younger generation that I attend school with.
I also have the generic business card.

Can make for a fat card case.
Slainte

[CDNSushi]

If I might throw my name into the pot here, in a matter of speaking... I know I'm a little late for the party (on page 4 of the thread).

Anyway, I'm quite fond of cards, but "business cards" as such, I don't particularly care for. They usually associate a person with a company and represent one's work instead of one's self. They also tend to include many prefixes and suffixes which all sound pretentious to me and don't amount to a hill of beans.

Sure, I could write:

Rev. Jim Dunlop, BSc, MBA, BYOB, ROLFLOLBBQ
Independent consultant on all mundane matters

But really, I'm just plain ol' Jim.

This is why I was THRILLED when I learned about the .tel concept. Yeah, it sounds like just another top-level domain, but I really like it! When I saw the commercial for it, I was hooked!

So now, both my wife and I have our very own .TEL domains, and I've made up some .TEL calling cards. It looks like a regular business card, but it's colourful, double-sided, and it has only ONE thing printed on it.



MyName.TEL


That's it. Nothing more, nothing less. No titles, degrees, appellations... Then, using any Internet-capable device, you can punch in the URL, and badaboom-badabing, you get my full name, e-mail address, home tel#, cell#, Skype #, social networking data... Anything I choose to release as public info.

Then, to get it onto a card, I used this website. Their cards are SICK! I really love having cool, colourful cards -- it blows peoples' minds! (You gotta check out the "Flashy" and "Ornate" sections.

http://businesscardstar.com/

You can either print them out at home on card stock, or get 'em done up professionally and shipped (if you live in N.A.).


So with this, I can hand out a "calling card" as was the custom in years gone by, but with a very modern twist to it.

Here's a demo for you. Checkitout:

Sample .tel domain: http://ben.tel

TelNic's website: http://www.telnic.org/

The (viral) and sexy commercial showing how .tel works: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNVx2Lz_IfQ
(Also available on the telnic website too)

[ForresterModern]

I use a standard business card with name, position, work address and phone/email contact information. If I had them out for personal reasons I just write my personal phone/cell and sometimes my home address on the back in pen.

My wife has an interesting twist in having three "calling cards", although she is not employed but rather a stay at home mother and keeper of our household (all but the cars--that is my job---well that and stopped up toilets). Her household card states her name, her position as Chief Operating Officer of the Foster Family Household, a senior board member of that entity, then includes our address, phone, emails, etc.... She hands these out in lieu of giving out her phone number when someone asks for it for whatever reason.
She is also the captain of a team of loosely gathered athletes, mostly cyclists, who band together one or more times per year to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, as a group called simply "Team Codie", named after the son she lost to leukemia more than 8 years ago. Her Team Codie card includes her name, position as Captain of Team Codie, a small blurb about its purpose, and then the usual contact information, on the background of her on her bike in Team Codie colors. She hands these out to folks she meets who are athletes and who may be interested in jointing the team for one or more of its fundraising events, usually cycling charity fundraisers. We have had freinds and family from Oregon, California, Florida, Colorado, and other places join us on our flagship ride in Wisconsin every summer, and over the 10 years she has been doing this (7 for me as co captain) we have raised nearly $40,000 for the cause. We have logo jerseys, t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, sports water bottles and lapel pins that we give out as swag to members who ride with us.
Her third card is actually a household card, as our home tends to be the gathering place for many friends and family either passing through, coming for a visit, or coming for a holiday gathering. We have a few extra beds and baths and comforatble accommodations so it happens quite frequently. My wife had cards made up for the unofficial Foster Bed & Breakfast with the proprietors names (us), address, etc..., and the final line----we supply the bed, you make your own breakfast. She hands these out as gags to those who have stayed with us or who are coming to stay with us in some capacity.

[Peter C.]

On a business card, yes. On a social card, no.

The professional exceptions for social cards are Reverend, Father, & Rabbi preceding the name. Using Esq. after one's name (despite it's professional use by lawyers) implies one is an armiger (ie: possesses a personal coat of arms). While it is accepted practice in the United States that a lawyer will append Esq. after his name on a business card, it is gauche, in the extreme, to advertise, or put forward, one's trade, profession, or academic standing on a social card.

To quote the Oxford English Dictionary:- Esquire. a)Brit. a title appended to a man's surname when no other form of address is used. b)US. a title appended to a lawyer's surname.

Peter