7 Mistakes People Make While Networking at Events
The seven habits that quietly kill your event networking, and what to do instead. From handing out paper to weak follow ups.
Digital Business Cards vs Traditional Cards, What Actually Works
Most "digital vs paper" articles read like a sales pitch. This one is built from what professionals across Dubai, Karachi, and Riyadh have actually told us about both formats over the last year.
The five things that matter
Pick a card for the job it is supposed to do. Get my details into the other person's phone, fast and accurately, then signal that I am worth a follow up. Score both formats on those five points.
Cost
Paper: 80 to 200 AED per print run, plus reprint costs whenever a detail changes. If you change roles, the cards in your wallet are now wrong.
Digital: Free for the basics with services like MyKard.link. Edit any time. No reprint.
Winner: Digital, by an order of magnitude.
Friction at handover
Paper: The receiver still has to type all your details by hand later. Most do not.
Digital: One tap saves your full vCard to the receiver's phone book.
Winner: Digital.
Looks and impression
Paper: A nicely printed card with thoughtful stock and finish makes a real impression in formal contexts. This is real, and worth keeping.
Digital: A clean profile with photo, theme, and links also makes an impression, especially with younger professionals.
Winner: Tie. Use both for different contexts.
Follow up signal
Paper: Zero. You have no idea if anyone saved you.
Digital: Most platforms tell you when your link was viewed and when someone saved you. More on why this matters.
Winner: Digital.
Mode flexibility
Paper: One title, one role, one set of details.
Digital: Personal mode for friends and family, business mode for clients, default for everything else. Same card, different render.
Winner: Digital.
The honest case for keeping some paper
Paper still wins in three places. Formal sit-down meetings where presentation matters. Gifts inside thank-you notes. Conferences in industries that have not adopted digital yet, like some legal and family-business sectors in the region.
For everyone else, paper is becoming the exception, not the default.
The hybrid setup most professionals use in 2026
- Print 50 cards, not 500. Use them only for formal occasions.
- Keep a digital card with QR on your phone home screen.
- Lead with the digital. Pull out paper only if asked.
- Update your digital monthly. Reprint paper once a year if you must.
FAQ
Will a digital card feel less professional?
The opposite, in our experience. A polished public profile signals you are organised. Paper without a digital backup signals the reverse.
What about regulated industries?
Banking, legal, and healthcare often need a printed record. Use both. The digital still serves the follow up, the paper serves the formality.
Where do I start?
Read how MyKard works and create one in under a minute. No card to print, no app to install.
Try a free digital card
Edit forever. Free for the basics. Setup in sixty seconds.
Create your free MyKardMyKard.link, the free digital business card by Kreative Minds.