Face-to-Face vs. Face-to-Interface or Why do business cards still work?

We're living in an always-on, always-connected world which we navigate with our smartphones and yet we give each other pieces of paper when we meet for business...

Why?

Two weeks ago I had the pleasure of delivering the opening keynote for the UFI Open Seminar in Chiang-Mai, Thailand, where I had the chance to share my thoughts and test this theory with many industry peers. (and burnt through nearly a hundred business cards in doing)

The idea is simple, I call it: Face-to-Face vs. Face-to-Interface

When we're Face-to-Face, we (humans) don't need any interface to communicate. Any interface automatically becomes an interference, especially smartphones. You could argue this is exactly why exhibitions are still big businesses in the age of information; by leveraging the power of Face-to-Face communication. It is obviously natural, quicker and easier in comparison to any interface design. (still!)

In this line of thinking, lets look at the business card exchange vs syncing our contact information across our smartphones with a methodology shamelessly borrowed from UX Designer Golden Krishna.

So how does a business card work?

How would the same exchange look like on a Smart Phone?

Now, the point is already made...

Until the day a smartphone app can beat the business card in ease of use, reliability and discreetness, we will carry those bits of paper around in our pockets. Same goes for any other Face-to-Face interaction, until tech does it better, faster and easier, it will remain the same. Those days might come, but they're not here yet...