Earlier today, @ChrisRicca Twittered that he was going to Boston BarCamp3 tomorrow morning. I have been wanting to attend a BarCamp, and not having anything particularly pressing to do this weekend, I decided on a whim to go to Boston too.

After making this decision, I realized that I don’t have any business cards. I’m out of personal business cards, the business cards from my last job aren’t going to do me any good, and I’m not getting my W+K business cards until next week. And it’s 7PM, on a Friday night.

My first idea was to go to the store and buy a stack of heavy paper, cut it up, and write my information on each piece. Yeah, so it would be a bit of a hassle and take a little bit of effort, but I figured it would be worth it.

However, it was pouring outside, and if you know me, you know the chances of me voluntarily leaving the house when it’s raining are slim-to-none. I decided to have a look around my room and see what I could do instead.

I thought to myeslf, “Hmm, what sort of heavy paper do I have to repurpose.” I thought about taking my Moleskine notebook and cutting it up, but I couldn’t find it. Next thought: Postcards.

I quickly located a stack of postcards leftover from when I was living in China. I knew I was keeping them for a good reason! I proceeded to cut them into squares and write my website and email address on the back with a Sharpie.

I am quite pleased with the way they turned out. Thinking back on all of the conferences I’ve attended and business cards I’ve received, I can only remember a few “made” ones that I made a point to hold onto. However, every time I’ve ever had somebody write their information down on a random scrap of paper, I’ve always guarded closely…

In addition, I realized that when I hand one of these to somebody, I am going to feel obligated to explain it. Which means I suddenly have a golden opportunity to relate this story, to weave in my experience in China, and leave a memorable, lasting impression on them. Which makes me really excited to give them out this weekend at BarCamp3!

So, if you’re finding your way here because I gave you one of my cool cards, then welcome :) And if you’re already a regular reader, then welcome back!

But either way, my email address is plainly displayed above, so you have no excuse not to drop me a line. I look forward to hearing from you all.