A few weeks ago I got the chance to see Lech Walesa in Chicago. He was here for the 20th anniversary of the fall of communism in Poland. As Chicago is said to have the largest Polish population outside of Chicago, it’s logical he would be here. The photo below shows him addressing the audience before the Freedom ’89 concert at Millennium Park.

(click on the photo above to see the full-size image)

For someone who grew up in the 80’s and was very aware of politics and the news, this was a big deal for me to see him, and I had my daughter in tow when I saw him. News of the Solidarity labor movement in Poland was big, as it was in line with other pressures to end communism. I also learned a lot about the labor movement from my advisor in college, who had emigrated from Poland to the US and at the time his family was still in Poland, and his stories were both fascinating and insightful.

Today, world events are just a tweet or Skype call away from first-hand accounts. Back before the Web and public use of the Internet, relying on the news and the rare personal account were how we learned about the world. Thus seeing Lech Walesa brought the news of the 80’s in Poland full-circle for me.

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After reading Emily Brackett’s series of blog posts over at the Design Advances Success blog about online printing and namely printing of business cards I have been thinking quite a bit about business cards and observations I have made over the past few months, which are not really different from ones I have made over all the years I have been in the working world.

About the business card itself:

May be your sole physical presence – In some cases, your business card is the only real physicality of your business. As many business are virtual or home-based, other than computer equipment a business card is the only real-world tangible item that shows you exist.

Business cards are cheap – Compared to other costs of running your business, the cost of designing and printing business cards is relatively inexpensive, whether you go with a commercial or online printer.

A business card is not a contract – Why would I state this? Read on and you’ll see why.

When you add people to the mix of business cards, here are some unfortunate observations I have made:

Some people don’t have business cards at all – I don’t know how any times I have been to a networking event and a person tells me they don’t have business cards in any way, shape for form. They will proceed to ask me if they are expensive to order, and where should they order them. Some are embarrassed, but most simply have a “whatever” attitude.

“I just ran out of cards” – This is another think I hear. Business cards are small, and fit neatly in a pocket, wallet or purse. If you have them, why not make sure you have enough, especially at a business event? I keep a business card holder on my desk, as pictured, to remind me to keep plenty on hand.

Someone says they ran out of cards but they just don’t want to give you one – This ties into my statement above about a business card not being a contract. I believe some people think if they give someone a card, they have entered into some form of relationship they could never get out of. From my past experience, I hear from less than 1% of the people I give business cards to.

Poor quality business cards – Where the design of a card is subjective more than objective, I have received cards that are either physically damaged or simply don’t have any contact information for a person. Just putting a Web site URL on a card may be creative, but it does not make a personal connection.

If you don’t believe me, Jason Jacobsohn has no shortage of articles on business cards and networking on his blog Networking Insight.

Spending a little time on creating a clean, clear and professional business card will go a long way towards your success in networking and business.

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Next Tuesday, July 14, I will be the guest speaker in the chat room during the live domain name auction on Bido. Bido is a unique “social auction platform” which offers for auction one domain name a day exclusively on the Web. You don’t have to bid on a domain name to participate in the live chat, but you do need to register.

The domain name to be auctioned is unlock.info. The term "unlock" has a high degree of meaning in the world of mobile devices, as a device is either locked to a particular provider or unlocked and can be used on any provider. I have written on locked vs. unlocked mobile devices before and I only own and use those unlocked.

I am looking forward to joining the conversation on domain names, mobile technology and Internet services during the chat on Bido. If you have never participated in a domain name auction I encourage you to check it out.

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Announcements • Domain Names • Mobile Technology • (5) Comments • Permalink

I am proud to announce that Dunkirk Systems, LLC yesterday launched the Active Travels blog and forum!

If you are looking for more than a stroll down Main Street at Disneyland, Active Travels is for you. Steve Jermanok is a travel journalist and has written several book and has contributed to the Boston Globe, Men’s Journal and Outside among other publications. Through Active Travels he shares his experiences over the years with unique travel destinations throughout the world on his blog. The forum, aptly named Go Play!, will “fill in the blanks” as he calls it and allows people to discuss destinations and activities. Simply browse the conversations and register to participate.

You can subscribe to Active Travels by RSS feed or by email or visit the site at activetravels.com. Though launched yesterday, it has had a soft launch over the last several weeks and there is already a wealth of travel information and destinations to read about. I think I found my summer getaway already, maybe you are next?

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The next likemind will be Friday, July 17, 2009 in dozens of cities around the world.

In Chicago, it will be at Argo Tea, 140 S Dearborn St. at the corner of Adams and Dearborn Streets in the Loop from 8:00 am to 10 am.

I call likemind a gathering of creative-minded people, from various disciplines including Internet, advertising, art, social media, et. al. For more information on likemind, you can read this great article on likemind from the New York Times.

No RSVP is required. You are also welcome to join the likemind Chicago Facebook group.

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