The Social Life: Postcrossing

Imagine going to your mailbox everyday and expecting more than just junk mail. You could be receiving plenty of exotic stamps and postcards from around the world. This is an introduction to what is known as Postcrossing. Postcrossing is a fun hobby for people of all ages who love to hear of different cultures and look at postcards from others' countries.

This online project known as Postcrossing came out in 2005 and was founded by Paulo Magalhães. The idea of the project is to send a postcard from your country to another area of the world. When that person receives a postcard, you will then receive one from another area of the world. You can choose to have the option of sending and receiving from your country as well. Be aware that just because you send to one country doesn't mean your next postcard you receive will be from that specific country.

Let me show you Postcrossing:

If you create an account, this is the first page you will see when you are registered. Let me explain everything that is on it. First, when we take a look at "Your mailbox," we see how many postcards I have sent (113), how many I have received (105), and how many postcards I have currently on the road to their selected countries (11/11). It also shows an estimate of how far your postcards have traveled and how far others' postcards have traveled to come to you.

You also get to write a bit about yourself on your profile as well as what postcards you prefer. Also, when you send or receive a card, you can upload a picture of the postcard for others to "favorite" and comment, kind of like FaceBook. When you register, you also need to give your address to your mailbox, which may make some people wary of strangers. No need to worry, because postcrossing only shares your address with people who are supposed to send you a postcard, so your address is kept safe from creepers and pedophiles.

This website is very simple to use. You click on "send a postcard" to obviously send a postcard. It will generate an address of someone who is expecting a postcard (since they already sent one to someone else). You write down their address on a postcard. Along with their address, the website generates a postcard ID. This tells what country the postcard came from. It also tells what number postcard is being sent from that country via postcrossing. For example, if you were given the ID, US-74972, then that means the postcard came from the United States of America and this is the 74,972 postcard from that country that was sent using postcrossing. This is one of the most important parts of the postcard, as it allows the other person to register it and tell postcrossing that you are expecting another postcard. Write a message to the person you are sending to after reading their profile to find out more about them. Then, apply the correct postage amount in order to send to that country. Currently in the US, it costs $1.05 to send a postcard internationally. With the poor economy, the price could rise so check with your post office for the current price to send a postcard. The Postcrossing website is absolutely free to use; however, you will have to pay for postage stamps and postcards in order to send a postcard to a country. When the person on the other line registers it, be sure to look in your mailbox in the next upcoming days for a postcard!

Now, you may notice that I have sent more than I have received. The reason for this is because another person must register my postcard with the postcard ID in order for the website to know that I have sent one. Then, another person will receive my address and send me a postcard as well and the cycle repeats. I currently have 11 postcards that I am sending to someone else. I can only send a maximum of 11 postcards at once. Your maximum limit is determined by how many you have sent. Once you get up to 100 sent postcards, your traveling limit increases by one for every 50 you send i.e. x/11 traveling, I sent 100. x/12 traveling, I sent 150 and so on. You can click on your "traveling postcards" tab to see how long they have been traveling.

I have collected (so far) 105 postcards, which is not nearly a lot compared to others. Postcrossers have been on this website for years and they have received over 5,000! Wow! If only I had that many! You should definetly use this website if you are one who loves to collect, then you should try this out today!

My question for this week is...

What do you think of Postcrossing?

Here are some of my postcards I have received and the countries they came from: