Rolodex Explained

A Rolodex is a rotating card file device used to store a contact list. Its name, a portmanteau of the words "rolling" and "index", has become somewhat genericized for any personal organizer performing this function, or as a metonym for a total accumulation of business contacts. In this usage, it has generally come to describe an effect or characteristic of the small-world network[1] of a business's investors,[2] board of directors,[3] or the value of a CEO's contacts,[4] or in organizational structure.[5] Models have been exhibited in the Smithsonian Institution.[6]

History

The Rolodex was invented in 1956 by Danish engineer Hildaur Neilsen, the chief engineer of Arnold Neustadter's company Zephyr American, a stationery manufacturer in New York.[7] Neustadter was often credited with having invented it.[8] [9] First marketed in 1958,[10] it was an improvement to an earlier design called the Wheeldex. Zephyr American also invented, manufactured and sold the Autodex, a spring-operated phone directory that automatically opened to the selected letter; Swivodex, an inkwell that did not spill; Punchodex, a paper hole puncher; and Clipodex, an office aid that attached to a stenographer's knee.[11] [12] Rolodex also marketed non-rotary (linear) tub-like card-file systems using the same cards (size and notches) as the rotary files.

Neustadter retired and sold out to a larger firm in 1970.[13] The Rolodex remained popular throughout the 1980s, and individual Rolodexes containing a large amount of information were considered valuable, and lawsuits were filed by companies against employees who attempted to take their Rolodex with them when leaving the company. A 1985 episode of the detective TV series Moonlighting involved a stolen Rolodex being ransomed for $50,000- a figure reflecting the value of the data it contained. The system fell out of widespread use in the 2000s, as digital storage became the norm. However, Rolodex cards are still produced, and have a niche usership.[14]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Brügemann . Björn . Gautier . P. . Menzio . G. . 2017 . Rolodex Game in Networks . 2022-08-21 . web-facstaff.sas.upenn.edu . 212425470 . en.
  2. Hui . Pamsy P. . 2004-08-01 . The rolodex paradox: effects of ties to and via venture capitalists on startup survival and commercial success. . Academy of Management Proceedings . 2004 . 1 . E1–E6 . 10.5465/ambpp.2004.13857681 . 0065-0668.
  3. Nguyen . Bang Dang . 2012-02-01 . Does the Rolodex Matter? Corporate Elite's Small World and the Effectiveness of Boards of Directors . Management Science . 58 . 2 . 236–252 . 10.1287/mnsc.1110.1457 . 0025-1909.
  4. The Price of a CEO's Rolodex . 2022-08-21 . Review of Financial Studies . 10.1093/rfs/hhs114. 2013 . Engelberg . Joseph . Gao . Pengjie . Parsons . Christopher A. . 26 . 79–114 . 10.1.1.825.7702.
  5. Web site: Perlman . Merrill . 2020-04-16 . 'Rolodex,' on rotation . 2022-08-21 . Columbia Journalism Review . en.
  6. Nissen . Mark E. . Sawy . Omar A. . 2002-09-01 . The Rolodex Model: Understanding Relationship Complexity as a Precursor to the Design of Organizational Forms for Chaotic Environments . Monterey, CA . Naval Postgraduate School . en.
  7. US . 2731966A . patent . Rotary card-filing device . 1956-01-24 . 1953-03-26 . Hildaur L. . Neilsen . Zephyr American Corporation . .
  8. Web site: Arnold Neustadter, 85, who invented the Rolodex card... . 1996-04-20 . 2022-08-21 . Baltimore Sun.
  9. Web site: Hampson . Rick . Rolodex Inventor Dead at 85; Created the Business World's Wheel of Fortune . 1996-04-19 . 2022-08-21 . AP News . en.
  10. Web site: Fascinating facts about the invention of Rolodex by Hildaur Neilsen in 1954.. 2006-06-09. 2014-09-04. 2010-12-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20101217103215/http://ideafinder.com/history/inventions/rolodex.htm. dead.
  11. Web site: History of the Rolodex - Hildaur Neilson invented the Rolodex . http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20081107153618/http://inventors.about.com/od/rstartinventions/a/Rolodex.htm . dead . 2008-11-07 . Mary . Bellis . 2014-09-04.
  12. Web site: Grossman . Anna Jane . 2010-03-20 . The Life and Death of the Rolodex . 2022-08-21 . Gizmodo . en-us.
  13. Web site: Lasker . David . 1990-01-28 . ICONS: Rolodex: A Rotary File Comes Full Circle . 2022-08-21 . Los Angeles Times . en-US.
  14. Web site: The Life and Death of the Rolodex. Anna Jane. Grossman. March 20, 2010. Gizmodo.

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