Re: Not a very bright boy...
"We couldn't have them as lowly sysadmins"
You sir had some really shit management then. When I ran my own business, I'd get business cards printed for anyone that felt they needed them. Business cards cost nothing and provide a huge amount of motivation for some people...it costs less than a tenner to make someone feel empowered with a stack of business cards...and when you promote them by giving them a new title, they get that feeling all over again. Why wouldn't you get some cards printed for someone? It's such a small cost for a boost in morale.
Having a business card also makes some people more inclined to sit in face to face meetings without side contacts (suppliers, customers etc) because they don't have to feel like an ass when someone asks for their card...nothing makes someone feel unimportant like having to scribble their contact details on a post it note.
Me on the other hand, I've never had business cards for anywhere I've worked...even in my own businesses...I always insist on a generic card with the front desk number on it if I'm issued with a card from a business...I had my own personal business cards with my contact details on...if I felt like I needed to give you my specific "hotline", I'd give you two cards...for two reasons, I wanted to control the level of spam and hassle I got...and if you make a point of handing someone a second card with your "personal" details on, it can make the person you're talking to feel like they've accessed some special level of comms with you and make them feel that bit more important than they otherwise would.
There used to be so much you could get out of business cards for very little money.
I even had a bunch of "free" ones that I'd carry around...the kind you could get for free that had wank print quality and a load of ads on the back...like escort services etc...as a gag...the leverage there is you can make yourself appear busier than you actually are (man, I had someone get these printed for me because I was tight for time and this is what I got!) or easier going / more caring than you otherwise might be (I gave someone some cash to get these printed, looks like they pocketed the cash and I got this rubbish! Oh well, I won't give them a hard time. I've only got 100 left, well 99 now, can't bring myself to waste them).
There was a time where business cards were much more than just a means of sharing information. They were an effective tool. Just not in an "American Psycho" kind of way.
I even kept business cards handy that other people might reject, like cards with a typo on them. If I suspected that a person I was speaking to wasn't entirely on the ball, I'd hand them one with a typo to see if they spot it.
These days I don't bother with business cards at all, I carry QR codes that link to vCards...because nobody cares anymore.