Business cards are fine, and it doesn’t hurt to carry some. But think about it; how many business cards do you have that someone else gave to you? They get used for testing pens on, and propping up wobbly beer tables, and quickly disappear into oblivion or the bin.
But you must always share contact details before leaving someone. Always!
Digital is the way to go these days. You need to get yourself into someone’s phone contacts, where you can happily remain forever more, and not leave people wondering who you are when you get back in touch with them.
Your option are many, but you need to be equipped for cross-platform compatibility. Or, at least, have several options for different types of devices. A personal favourite is sending a contact file over NFC. Just add yourself to your own address book before hitting the show floor at Pocket Gamer Connects: Helsinki (or wherever) and leave the app open on that entry. Put your handsets back to back, and over it goes.
This is only useful for Android, of course. Another nice option is to keep a QR Code open on your phone that links to an online vCard file (or similar), so people can scan the code and download your contact details. Don’t forget to use a URL shortener when generating the QR Code so the matrix is simpler and will read more easily.
Again, this relies on the other guy having a QR Code reader installed, which they might not. There are a bunch of apps out there that can help (Shoot is a good one for iOS), so find one you like and make sure it’s installed before the big day.
And if all else fails, suggest following each other on Twitter, and do it there and then with your phones. However you do it, a digital transfer of contact details beats a business card hands down. After all, it’s the 21st Century for God’s sake.
That’s our quick and dirty guide to networking, which we’ll expand more on later. In the meantime, don’t forget to grab your Pocket Gamer Connects: Helsinki ticket so you can go and test out these game show networking hints and times yourself. Got your own strategies? Tell us all about them in the comments below.