Postcrossing Blog

On July 14th 2005 the Postcrossing project was open to the world with a goal: to connect people across the world through postcards, independent of their location, age, gender, race or beliefs. Any mailbox could be turned into a surprise box.

But what started as a small pet project quickly turned into a fast growing community spread through out many different countries. And today, 4 years later, over 2 million smiles have connected more than 100.000 members across the globe making this project surpass all its best dreams and hopes.

Over 4 years Postcrossing has evolved considerably and this last year was a specially busy one. It’s been a long path in many milestones along the way and to share them with you, we have put together a Postcrossing History page. If you ever wondered how it all started, we hope you’ll find your answers in this page.

We hope to continue to connect the world through smiles and postcards. A big thank you to everyone who make this possible!

Happy birthday Postcrossing!

We know many Postcrossers take their yearly break in the upcoming weeks to relax and visit new places. If you are one of those and you’ll be away from your home address for a while, we recommend you to switch your account to the Inactive state – you can do that easily just by editing your Postcrossing account. When you are back, all you need to do is to switch it back to Active and you’ll be back in business again! This will tell Postcrossing to not give your address to any other member while you are away. Rest assured that when you’re back, they will be sent your way.

Oh, and don’t forget to re-stock with postcards from the place where you’ll be spending your days away!

Bon voyage!

In a partnership with Japan Post, Nestlé Kit Kat and advertising agency JWT have come up with a clever and innovative concept: the Kit Kat postcards!

As the name suggests, these are small boxes of Kit Kat, that can be mailed as if they were a postcard. The product launch was timed with the university exams season, so that friends and relatives could wish students good luck in their studies with a chocolate break :)

Here’s the product presentation:

The Kit Kat postcards won the Media Grand Prix this year at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival, so we wonder… how long until it is available at other postal services around the world? *hint hint* :)

Have you been in a Postcrossing meetup before? How about an International Postcrossing meetup? If not, here’s your chance!

Like all Postcrossing meetups, this one is also organized by the users themselves and it’s been in the works for quite some time. Now that the details are pretty much decided, it’s time to spread the word. This International Postcrossing meetup is going to be in Helsinki (Finland) in the 28th, 29th and 30th of August.

If you are interested, here’s a summary of what’s currently planned:

Friday, 28th August:

A small pre-meeting in the afternoon for chat and coffee in a cafeteria.

Saturday, 29th August – the official meeting day

The official meeting day starts at 10am with a guided tour around city center and a trip to the Suomenlinna Island, an UNESCO World Heritage place. On the Island it’s possible to do a small picnic or have a cup of coffee. Of course, the city tour will have plenty of stops in many postcard shops!
Later in the day everyone can enjoy a meal together in a restaurant followed by plenty of time to write some more postcards.

Sunday, 30th August

A visit to the biggest flea market in Helsinki, Valtterin Kirpputori, and continue to the amusement park Linnanmäki which has an unique atmosphere. The last stop on Sunday will be the Olympic Stadium Tower in Helsinki.

Many users are already arranging to go, some from abroad with plans to visit the country for the first time!

To know more details about this meetup, just check the Postcrossing Forum where you can find more updated information about it.

On the last post, some of you wondered what kind of objects can be sent through mail. Well, here’s a cool project that tests the limits of postal services (and their patience too!): To Mr. Cheng.

Artist Eric Ericson, from Sweden, spent a few years sending all kinds of unwrapped objects through the mail: food, a skeleton, a baby doll, books, vinyl records, a pair of glasses, individual playing cards… you name it.

The result is a fascinating minimalist website and book (published in Sweden but we hope they make it available in Amazon soon!).

Here’s what the artist had to say on a recent interview with Wired magazine:

Wired.com: You have previously published books of letters, for example one where you sent letters with odd ideas to authorities, like asking a Swedish municipality if it could host a North American Indian tribe. Why are you so fascinated by letters?
Ericson: Sending things is a fun way to communicate, and I love the seriousness in letters. I mean, you would never receive a lawsuit by e-mail. There is something about letters, especially nowadays when they are getting more and more rare, and we’re communicating in other ways instead.