• by Amy Corr , Staff Writer @MediaPostOTL, May 18, 2009

When life hands you lemons, you make lemonade; when a sour economy contributes to you being laid off, you turn your old business card into something positive.

That's the general concept behind CardsofChange, a Web site where individuals who lost their jobs can turn a negative into something upbeat and encouraging.

The process begins with an old business card. Old contact information is crossed out and replaced with an up-to-date email address, along with a positive change that occurred despite being laid off. Snap a picture of the card, upload it to the site and you're done. Once the card is visible online, the link can be shared via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Digg, Reddit and other social networking sites, increasing each card's visibility.

Unknownlab, an ideas company launched by recently laid-off TBWA/Chiat/Day employees, created the site.

The idea for Cards of Change was initially pitched to a client that liked the idea but passed on using it.

"We advised them [the client] that if you really want to give people a promotion linked to the recession, do something as proof that you support and want to help them and not only are trying to sell them stuff," said Tom Van Daele, former creative director at TBWA/Chiat/Day, and founder of Unknownlab. "The client loved the idea of CardsofChange but eventually decided not to do it. We at Unknownlab thought the idea had so much charm and decided to produce and launch it on our own," continued Van Daele.

Anyone can upload a business card; it's not exclusive for members of the advertising industry. Most people simply upload their cards with updated contact info, but some get a little creative. One woman placed her business card in a ViewMaster while another person fashioned an airplane from their card.

So far, about 50 cards have been uploaded, a number below Unknownlab's expectations.

"We have to be honest, we were hoping for a lot of more cards, knowing that we have days of 3,000 visitors on the Web site. Everybody loves the idea but getting people to upload their card and admit they were laid off is still a great barrier. That said, those who do take the time to find an old business card, write a positive message on it, take a picture and upload it are the ones that provide the silver lining of Cardsofchange," said Van Daele.

No one has found a job through the Web site thus far, but having the additional exposure can't hurt the unemployed workers who have added their cards to the site.

And if this site takes off, it couldn't hurt business for Unknown Lab, either.