Business cards becoming passe, replaced by LinkedIn

In years past, a business card was the best way to give someone your professional contact information.
But business cards quickly become dated. People change jobs, job titles, mailing addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses.
Online businesses like Plaxo cropped up to store business card information and try to keep it updated. But they were supplanted by LinkedIn, which now leads the space. LinkedIn gives people a way to maintain their own professional face online with a lot more information than business cards can hold.
Business cards haven’t completely gone away, but the trend is clear. The next step is for people to hand out business cards that have only their names and LinkedIn addresses.
The demise of business cards will turn the paper IDs into collector’s items. Some old business cards from famous people already are. I’ve included a few here, including the first business card of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, up top. Below are cards from Albert Einstein, Apple’s Steve Jobs, Google’s Larry Page and Twitter’s Jack Dorsey.

Websites for business cards of famous people:

Business Cards of 10 Famous People (Stock Logos; Sept. 5, 2011)

Business cards for Charles Lindbergh, John D. Rockefeller and Howard Hughes. (CharlesLindbergh.com; Feb. 1, 2002)

5 Business Cards That Changed the World (PsPrint; June 16, 2010)

Abraham Lincoln’s business card (America’s Library)

The Business Cards of Tech Giants (NextDayFlyers; Feb. 25, 2011)

First business card for Twitter creator and Square founder (Twitter; Jan. 25, 2012)