Postcrossing.com

Recently, I joined a website called "Postcrossing." This site exists to do just what the name implies: provide a way for individuals (not businesses) to exchange postcards with other people around the world. It costs nothing to join, although if you want to donate to the upkeep of the site, you may.


Because I have a large postcard collection just sitting in a file box, I thought this was a good way to use those postcards up before I croak and my daughters have to give them away or throw them out.


The steps to setting up a Postcrossing profile and registering are simple, and you immediately receive five addresses to get you started. Once your first postcard arrives at its destination and the recipient logs it into the website, you can get another address, and the process continues. For every postcard you send, your address is given to another member of Postcrossing, who then reads your profile and sends a postcard to you.

Randomness is one of the best aspects of Postcrossing. My first postcards went to Russia, China, The Netherlands, Croatia, and Germany. After about a week, I received my first postcard, from a Chinese student who was living in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Once you receive a Postcrossing member's address, you may read her/his profile. This gives you an idea of the person's interests and preferences for the type of postcard she/he would like to receive.

I derive a lot of pleasure from choosing a postcard that I hope will please the recipient. For example, I sent this postcard to a woman who has two small dogs on whom she dotes.

This month, Postcrossing turned five years old. Here's a message from the site:

"On 14th July 2005, the Postcrossing project started its first steps in spreading smiles through postcards. It was a small project done for the love of sending and receiving postcards from all over the world, and the hope was that there would be more people sharing the same love and interest for snail mail. Fast forward 5 years and this same project is now responsible for over 4.5 million postcards connecting about 200 countries. It binds together people from different cultures of all ages and genders, with different political and even religious beliefs. Few other hobbies can claim to have achieved the same results, and we are quite proud of this!
Throughout these years, Postcrossing has gone through several milestones, thanks to the work of a team of volunteers as well as the precious support of its members who helped it reach what it is now. 

Postcrossing is sending out a bold message to the world today: postcards are not something from the past. In fact, we feel like we are starting a postcard revolution and proving that no technology will ever replace the intimacy of a handwritten postcard. Thank you everyone who made this possible. Let's make the next five years even greater!"

To join Postcrossing, go to: http://www.postcrossing.com