intertwingly

Joi Ito: A lot of people ask me about Japanese customs. They learn the formal way to hand business cards, they bow deeply when they meet Japanese and they call me "Ito-san." Stop that. It's silly.

I've gotten away for nearly twenty-three years without the need for business cards.  The backstory is this: early in my career, I attended a meeting which concluded with the ritual exchanging of business cards.  Prior to the second such meeting (different customer), I inquired as to how I could acquire business cards of my own.  My manager at the time checked into it and told me that the expense was denied.

Simply put, I didn't rank.

At that moment, I decided that I never again would put myself in a situation where I would ask for business cards knowing that it involved someone assessing my worthiness.

Sharing this has turned out to be an icebreaker at conferences.

However, I have found that when I encounter a different ritual, one where business cards are exchanged at the first encounter, i.e., at the beginning of the meeting, that the result is a uncomfortable social situation.