Postcrossing
Encyclopedia
Postcrossing is an online project
that allows its members to send and receive real postcard
s from all over the world. The project's tag line is "send a postcard and receive a postcard back from a random person somewhere in the world!” Its members, also known as Postcrossers, send postcards to other members and receive postcards back from other random Postcrossers. Where the postcards come from is always a surprise.
Postcrossing is the union of the words "postcard" and "crossing" and its origin "is loosely-based on the Bookcrossing
site". However, the "crossing" or exchange of postcards works in a different way. A member sends a postcard to another Postcrosser and receives a postcard back from a random Postcrosser. Exchanges between the same two members only occur once; although direct swaps between members happen, they are not part of the official happenings on the site. The project is completely free and anyone with an address can create an account. However, the postcards themselves and postage fees to mail them are the responsibility of each user.
As of September 2011, Postcrossing had over 251,000 members in 198 different countries who had exchanged over 8.4 million postcards that have traveled over 45.8 billion kilometers.
The highest concentration of Postcrossing members reside in the United States, China, Russia, Taiwan, Germany, the Netherlands and Finland. Globally, most Postcrossers reside in North America, Europe, and East Asia.
The first step is to request to send a postcard. The website will display (and send the member an e-mail) the address of another Postcrosser and a Postcard ID (e.g.: US-786). The Postcard ID uniquely identifies that postcard in the system. The member then mails a postcard to that Postcrosser and writes the Postcard ID on it. The Postcrosser receives the postcard and registers it using the Postcard ID that is on the postcard. At this point, the member is eligible to receive a postcard from another Postcrosser. Where that postcard comes from is a surprise!
Initially each member can have up to 5 postcards traveling at any single time. Every time one of the sent postcards is registered, that Postcrosser can request another address. The number of postcards allowed to travel at any single time goes up the more postcards a member sends.
The Postcrossing system allows for the same two members to exchange postcards only once. By default, members will exchange postcards with countries other than their own; however, the users can decide to exchange postcards with other users in his or her own country.
A small percentage of mailed postcards get lost during their travels; others may arrive with the Postcard ID unreadable and are difficult to register. There are also members who become inactive while postcards are on the way to them. The system behind the website accounts for all these factors and compensates active members by attempting to reduce the difference between the number of sent and received postcards of each member.
The project started initially as a hobby for Paulo, but its unexpected success revealed that the idea was more popular than he ever predicted. Initially, Paulo hosted the project on an old computer housed in a clothes closet at his home. This setup quickly was shown to be insufficient. Based on word of mouth, the project quickly expanded over the Portuguese borders where the project was developed.
Over time the project received attention from the media which contributed to its growth and popularity. Postcrossing reached its first million exchanged postcards on April 11, 2008 and has since grown even more rapidly. It reached the second million on February 26, 2009, with a postcard that traveled from Germany to Norway. The third million was reached on September 24, 2009 with a postcard traveling from Finland to Slovenia. The fourth million was reached on March 28, 2010 with a postcard traveling from the Czech Republic to the Netherlands.
Postcrossing.com celebrated its five year anniversary on July 14, 2010 with a photography contest for its members. Shortly after celebrating their fifth birthday, Postcrossing.com reached 5,000,000 postcards received on August 24, 2010 with a postcard traveling from Isle of Man (registered under an Italian member) to Thailand. The 7,000,000th postcard was sent on April 4, 2011 from China and received on April 19, 2011 in the Netherlands.
Project
A project in business and science is typically defined as a collaborative enterprise, frequently involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a particular aim. Projects can be further defined as temporary rather than permanent social systems that are constituted by teams...
that allows its members to send and receive real postcard
Postcard
A postcard or post card is a rectangular piece of thick paper or thin cardboard intended for writing and mailing without an envelope....
s from all over the world. The project's tag line is "send a postcard and receive a postcard back from a random person somewhere in the world!” Its members, also known as Postcrossers, send postcards to other members and receive postcards back from other random Postcrossers. Where the postcards come from is always a surprise.
Postcrossing is the union of the words "postcard" and "crossing" and its origin "is loosely-based on the Bookcrossing
BookCrossing
BookCrossing is defined as "the practice of leaving a book in a public place to be picked up and read by others, who then do likewise." The term is derived from bookcrossing.com, a free online book club which began in order to encourage the practice, aiming to "make the whole world a library."The...
site". However, the "crossing" or exchange of postcards works in a different way. A member sends a postcard to another Postcrosser and receives a postcard back from a random Postcrosser. Exchanges between the same two members only occur once; although direct swaps between members happen, they are not part of the official happenings on the site. The project is completely free and anyone with an address can create an account. However, the postcards themselves and postage fees to mail them are the responsibility of each user.
As of September 2011, Postcrossing had over 251,000 members in 198 different countries who had exchanged over 8.4 million postcards that have traveled over 45.8 billion kilometers.
The highest concentration of Postcrossing members reside in the United States, China, Russia, Taiwan, Germany, the Netherlands and Finland. Globally, most Postcrossers reside in North America, Europe, and East Asia.
How it works
The main idea is that if a member sends a postcard he or she will receive at least one back from a random Postcrosser somewhere in the world.The first step is to request to send a postcard. The website will display (and send the member an e-mail) the address of another Postcrosser and a Postcard ID (e.g.: US-786). The Postcard ID uniquely identifies that postcard in the system. The member then mails a postcard to that Postcrosser and writes the Postcard ID on it. The Postcrosser receives the postcard and registers it using the Postcard ID that is on the postcard. At this point, the member is eligible to receive a postcard from another Postcrosser. Where that postcard comes from is a surprise!
Initially each member can have up to 5 postcards traveling at any single time. Every time one of the sent postcards is registered, that Postcrosser can request another address. The number of postcards allowed to travel at any single time goes up the more postcards a member sends.
The Postcrossing system allows for the same two members to exchange postcards only once. By default, members will exchange postcards with countries other than their own; however, the users can decide to exchange postcards with other users in his or her own country.
A small percentage of mailed postcards get lost during their travels; others may arrive with the Postcard ID unreadable and are difficult to register. There are also members who become inactive while postcards are on the way to them. The system behind the website accounts for all these factors and compensates active members by attempting to reduce the difference between the number of sent and received postcards of each member.
History
The idea for the project was created by Paulo Magalhães, who started the site on July 14, 2005. The motivation was based on the fact that he liked to receive mail, especially postcards. “The element of surprise of receiving postcards from different places in the world (many of which you’d probably never have heard of) can turn your mailbox into a box of surprises – and who wouldn’t like that?”The project started initially as a hobby for Paulo, but its unexpected success revealed that the idea was more popular than he ever predicted. Initially, Paulo hosted the project on an old computer housed in a clothes closet at his home. This setup quickly was shown to be insufficient. Based on word of mouth, the project quickly expanded over the Portuguese borders where the project was developed.
Over time the project received attention from the media which contributed to its growth and popularity. Postcrossing reached its first million exchanged postcards on April 11, 2008 and has since grown even more rapidly. It reached the second million on February 26, 2009, with a postcard that traveled from Germany to Norway. The third million was reached on September 24, 2009 with a postcard traveling from Finland to Slovenia. The fourth million was reached on March 28, 2010 with a postcard traveling from the Czech Republic to the Netherlands.
Postcrossing.com celebrated its five year anniversary on July 14, 2010 with a photography contest for its members. Shortly after celebrating their fifth birthday, Postcrossing.com reached 5,000,000 postcards received on August 24, 2010 with a postcard traveling from Isle of Man (registered under an Italian member) to Thailand. The 7,000,000th postcard was sent on April 4, 2011 from China and received on April 19, 2011 in the Netherlands.
See also
- DeltiologyDeltiologyDeltiology is the study and collection of postcards. Professor Randall Rhoades of Ashland, Ohio, coined a word in 1945 that became the accepted description of the study of picture postcards. It took about 20 years for the name to appear in the dictionary the first time...
- Real photo postcardReal photo postcardIn 1903 Kodak introduced the . The camera, designed for postcard-size film, allowed the general public to take photographs and have them printed on postcard backs. They are usually the same size as standard vintage postcards . Also known by the acronym "RPPC".Kodak's 3A camera pioneered in its use...
- BookCrossingBookCrossingBookCrossing is defined as "the practice of leaving a book in a public place to be picked up and read by others, who then do likewise." The term is derived from bookcrossing.com, a free online book club which began in order to encourage the practice, aiming to "make the whole world a library."The...
- gift-giving community of books - CouchSurfingCouchSurfingCouchSurfing International Inc. is a corporation based in San Francisco that offer its users hospitality exchange and social networking services. It is a for-profit private corporation, planning to go public. With more than 3 million profiles in 246 countries and territories, CouchSurfing has an...
- for-profit hospitality exchange network - BeWelcomeBeWelcomeBeWelcome is a hospitality exchange service that is run by a non-profit organisation. The site was founded in February of 2007 by volunteers from another hospitality exchange website Hospitality Club. As of November 2011, the organisation has more than 15,000 members from all over the world who...
– an open sourceOpen sourceThe term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
and non-profit hospitality exchange network - Hospitality ClubHospitality ClubThe Hospitality Club is an international, Internet-based hospitality service of appr. 300,000 members in 226 countries Its members use the website HospitalityClub.org to coordinate accommodation and other services, such as guiding or regaling travelers....
- gift-giving community of hospitality - The Freecycle NetworkThe Freecycle NetworkThe Freecycle Network is a non-profit organization registered in the state of Arizona, USA, and separately registered as a UK charity, that organizes a worldwide network of "gifting" groups, aiming to divert reusable goods from landfills...
- gift-giving community - DaruDarDaruDarDaruDar is an international community where people give away things, their skills and time to each other for absolutely free requiring nothing in return....
- gift-giving community of things and skills - Gift economyGift economyIn the social sciences, a gift economy is a society where valuable goods and services are regularly given without any explicit agreement for immediate or future rewards . Ideally, simultaneous or recurring giving serves to circulate and redistribute valuables within the community...