SubscribeI pushed myself to go to the first Ignite Event in Beijing, a few days ago, even though it was all in Chinese and only 1 of the presentations was in English. I can get around with directions and my minimal knowledge of the language, but attempting to listen to the speakers, it’s confirmed that I have much to learn from the language, culture, and creative/tech industry.
More boggling to encounter was the informality (or formality?) of handing out business cards as a way of introduction. In the States (and Western world), we’re used to keeping our contact information quite personal, until we feel someone is ‘worthy of’ our information. Here, however, I was surprised to have people approach me with a business card in-hand, prior to having any sort of conversation as a way of introduction. I’m quite easily surprised! It makes introductions rather simple and more important to have your story on your card…
There is a funny list comparing what Chinese do and what Laowai (foreigners) do. It has a point on business card exchange. Chinese people might need a room to archive business cards they received, but they seldom look up or contact any of them. Reason? You might want to find it out by yourself.