This was the photo, but I couldn't find it again to get the ad word-for-word.  Here's the gist:  Look!  Mommy cards!  The cool way to share your contact info!
    Oh.  My.  Goodness.  Really?  Business cards to keep on you at the playground?  If one of the other moms at ballet gave me one of these, I would get a very specific impression of her-- one that would motivate me to throw the card away without ever calling her.  See, business cards are designed for a very specific type of networking:  conducting business.  "Here is my card; I hope to be able to provide you a service for a fee."  They are a wonderful tool in the business world.  They are not meant to specifically facilitate a friendship.  How impersonal is it to hand someone a preprinted card from a stack of fifty?  Does that not say to the other person, "I pretty much give this out to everybody.  I have not taken any kind of personal interest in you or your child.  But maybe I can get you over to my house so you will join Amway with me."
    And how full of yourself must you be to think, "Wow.  Everyone is going to want my number just so they can hang out with me.  I'd better have some cards made so I don't get writer's cramp!"  Does your self-worth hinge on how many cards you give out in a day?  What if someone refuses your card?  Does that mean you are unlovable?  Who would want to put themselves under that kind of pressure?
    I should assert that I am not one of the greatest at making the leap from acquaintance at soccer practice to setting a private playdate.  But I'm pretty sure it's a bit like dating; you have to actually give someone your number either written on paper spontaneously or dictated while the person punches the numbers into their cell phone.  Then again, I haven't dated in  a while, either.  Maybe I'm behind.  But if that's the case, I don't want to catch up.
    I'm sorry if any of my friends are now embarrassed because they carry these cards themselves.  I'm sure you have your reasons.  Just don't hand one to me, okay?

CL