How strange that just as everyone has become resigned to the organizational principles of the digital world, the latest status symbol to crop up in every meeting we go to is…

A notepad.

Not a laptop, not a PowerBook, but a very basic — albeit overpriced — black little number, roughly 8 by 6 inches with the smoothest pages (color coded! lined!) and a virtually indestructable cover (read: coffee spills can be removed with the wipe of a sponge).

“It’s my deal book,” says Andrew Gelman, Director of Business Development at Inside.com, who referred to them as the SUB-ZERO of notebooks. “They’re as ubiquitous at dot-coms as Palms, StarTacs and Blackberrys.” He added, “The supercharged notebooks appeal to nostalgic back to school pangs, yet are chic enough to be a grown up accessory.”

Just in case you were feeling less-than-grown-up for playing Tetris on your Palm Pilot.