You are going to your very first adult webmaster convention. You packed your camera. You've got your casual clothes and your fancy clothes. You made sure to bring your plane tickets and your credit card. You brought your toothbrush and your deodorant. You have everything you could possibly need to make a good impression and to enjoy the show.

Wait a second. Where are your business cards?

"A business card is posterity. It speaks your name and tells your mission long after the show is over."

Yeah. Yeah. We know. This is the age of technology. You have a cellphone. You have a laptop computer. You might be lucky enough to own a cool, new PDA. So, why do you need to carry along a bunch of low-tech pieces of cardstock? The answer is clear. Business cards rule.

Let's get real about what is going to happen when you go to your very first adult webmaster convention.

You're going to be very busy and you're going to meet many people. You need something that will make people remember you and that something needs to be easy and fast. There is nothing faster or easier than whipping out a business card and handing it to another adult webmaster. Business cards are simple, affordable and eminently portable.

What's that you say? You've got a better idea? You want to bring along something more memorable than a silly old business card. You want to give the people you'll meet something cool like a printed t-shirts! That's a swell idea if you can afford it. Can you afford it? More importantly, how will you transport your wicked t-shirts? Will you have to carry a whole other suitcase? What if the airline loses your t-shirt bag? Have you tried to imagine yourself schlepping around a bag of shirts on the showroom floor? What if you're supposed to attend a nice dinner or hit a happening nightclub? Do you honestly believe you'll be allowed to bring your awesome t-shirts with you everywhere you go?

How's that again? You don't need business cards because you plan to make a lasting impression with your delightful charm and stunning good looks? You're absolutely positive everyone will remember your name because you are just too fabulous and too brilliant to be forgotten.

Guess again.

Whether this is your first show or your fifth, odds are you're going to be meeting strangers that don't know you from the boards and don't know you from Adam. Some adult shows will have thousands of webmasters in attendance. That program owner you spent five minutes with will undoubtedly spend five minutes with hundreds of other webmasters. All that meeting and greeting makes it damned hard to remember basic things like one person's name and email address.

Think of it this way. A business card is like a tangible member profile. Your card contains the most important information about you: Your name, your email address, your URL, your phone number and your business. You wouldn't join an adult webmaster board without completing your user profile. Why would you take the risk of being forgotten in a physical setting?

In addition, a business card indicates that you are a professional. A business card shows that you take yourself seriously enough to have your name printed for posterity. A business card is posterity. It speaks your name and tells your mission long after the show is over. Not to mention, a business card fits handily into any pocket and can be great for jotting down a quick note, room number or message.

Get those cool t-shirts made if you think you must but don't forget your business cards. Have some made well in advance of your trip. Shell out the few bucks to have yours printed professionally. Your cards don't have to be fancy. Your vital info in nice, black lettering will do just fine.

In this age of gadgets and gismos and geegaws, nothing says I AM AN ADULT WEBMASTER quite like the almighty business card!