The Death of the Rolodex

Before social networking sites like Facebook, synchronized address books, and smartphones (iPhone) everyone had to memorize and organize thousands of contacts. Or have a Rolodex!

There were the people who stapled cards onto the Rolodex pages (that’s me! Storage for my business cards!) and people who hand wrote all the information. Cards could be added or tossed or shared with ease. It was a genius, efficient and highly personal way of staying in tough.

When the Rolodex first started selling in the 1950s, stationery shops were skeptical that anyone would want the spindly device on their desk. By the 1980s, however, the Rolodex had become such an icon that lawsuits where filed by companies who accused employees of taking them with them when they left – having a Rolodex filled with important names meant everything!

It’s amazing how technology alters the means by which we function. The use of social networks allow people to keep track of their contacts and even sync them to their smart phones. What ever happen to memorizing your important phone numbers? Or keeping a hand written address book?

How do you organize your contacts? Would you be cut-off from all your contacts if you lost your smartphone? Or do you still have a Rolodex?