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Postcrossing.com celebrated its five-year anniversary on July 14, 2010 with a photography contest for its members.<ref>{{cite web | last = postcrossing.com | date = 2010-07-14 | title = 5 years and counting | url = http://www.postcrossing.com/blog/2010/07/13/5-years-and-counting | accessdate = 2010-07-14 }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web | last = postcrossing.com | date = 2010-08-24 | title = 5000000 postcards received! | url = http://www.postcrossing.com/blog/2010/08/24/5000000-postcards-received | accessdate = 2010-08-24 }}</ref> The 7,000,000th postcard was sent on April 4, 2011 from China and received on April 19, 2011 in the Netherlands.<ref>[http://forum.postcrossing.com/viewthread.php?tid=55338 Postcrossing post 7,000,000th card]{{dead link|date=January 2013}}</ref> The 10,000,000th postcard travelled from Japan to Germany and was registered on January 27, 2012;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.postcrossing.com/blog/2012/01/27/10-000-000-registered-postcards |title=10,000,000 registered postcards! |publisher=Postcrossing.com |date=2012-01-27 |accessdate=2013-01-23}}</ref> the 15,000,000th postcard travelled from Germany to Italy and was registered on December 31, 2012.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.postcrossing.com/blog/2012/12/31/15-000-000-postcards-registered |title=15,000,000 postcards registered! |publisher=Postcrossing.com |date= |accessdate=2013-01-23}}</ref>
Postcrossing.com celebrated its five-year anniversary on July 14, 2010 with a photography contest for its members.<ref>{{cite web | last = postcrossing.com | date = 2010-07-14 | title = 5 years and counting | url = http://www.postcrossing.com/blog/2010/07/13/5-years-and-counting | accessdate = 2010-07-14 }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web | last = postcrossing.com | date = 2010-08-24 | title = 5000000 postcards received! | url = http://www.postcrossing.com/blog/2010/08/24/5000000-postcards-received | accessdate = 2010-08-24 }}</ref> The 7,000,000th postcard was sent on April 4, 2011 from China and received on April 19, 2011 in the Netherlands.<ref>[http://forum.postcrossing.com/viewthread.php?tid=55338 Postcrossing post 7,000,000th card]{{dead link|date=January 2013}}</ref> The 10,000,000th postcard travelled from Japan to Germany and was registered on January 27, 2012;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.postcrossing.com/blog/2012/01/27/10-000-000-registered-postcards |title=10,000,000 registered postcards! |publisher=Postcrossing.com |date=2012-01-27 |accessdate=2013-01-23}}</ref> the 15,000,000th postcard travelled from Germany to Italy and was registered on December 31, 2012.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.postcrossing.com/blog/2012/12/31/15-000-000-postcards-registered |title=15,000,000 postcards registered! |publisher=Postcrossing.com |date= |accessdate=2013-01-23}}</ref>


{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Date !! Time (UTC) !! Million postcards !! from --> to
|-
| April 11, 2008 || 4:00 p.m. || 1 || {{TUR}} --> {{ROM}}
|-
| February 26, 2009 || 6:30 a.m. || 2 || {{GER}} --> {{NOR}}
|-
| September 24, 2009 || 4:10 p.m. || 3 || {{FIN}} -->{{SLO}}
|-
| March 28,2010 || 11:20 a.m. || 4 || {{CZE}} --> {{NED}}
|-
| August 24, 2010 || 8:00 p.m. || 5 || {{ITA}} --> {{NOR}}
|-
| December 30, 2010 || 12:00 p.m. || 6 || {{SPA}} --> {{GER}}
|-
| April 19, 2011 || 7:00 p.m. || 7 || {{CHN}} --> {{NED}}
|-
| August 2, 2011 || 11:30 a.m. || 8 || {{FIN}} --> {{JPN}}
|-
| November 3, 2011 || 07:00 a.m. || 9 || {{CHN}} --> {{RUS}}
|-
| January 27, 2012 || 4:50 p.m. || 10 || {{JPN}} --> {{GER}}
|-
| April 3, 2012 || 9:10 p.m. || 11 || {{USA}} --> {{ISL}}
|-
| June 12, 2012 || 7:30 p.m. || 12 || {{USA}} --> {{NED}}
|-
| August 22, 2012 || 06:10 a.m. || 13 || {{HKG}} --> {{ RUS}}
|-
| October 25, 2012 || 9:50 p.m. || 14 || {{NED}} --> {{HND}}
|-
| December 31, 2012 || 1:46 p.m. || 15 || {{GER}} --> {{ITA}}
|-
| March 4, 2013 || 08:21 a.m. || 16 || {{UKR}} --> {{RUS}}
|}


== See also ==
== See also ==

Revision as of 23:01, 4 April 2013

Postcrossing
Type of site
Project website
Available inEnglish
OwnerPaulo Magalhães
Created byPaulo Magalhães
URLpostcrossing.com
RegistrationYes

Postcrossing is an online project that allows its members to send and receive real postcards 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!”[3] 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".[4] 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 March 2013, Postcrossing had over 395,000 members in 219 different countries who had exchanged over 16 million postcards that have traveled over 84.8 billion kilometers.[5]

The highest concentration of Postcrossing members reside (in order) in the United States, Russia, China, Taiwan, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Finland, Belarus, Ukraine and Brazil.[6] Globally, most Postcrossers reside in North America, Europe, and East Asia. Of particular note, Postcrossing is popular in eastern European and former-Soviet states. As of January 2012, more than a quarter of the combined total of postcards were sent from Finland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine.[7]

How it works

The main idea is that if a member sends a postcard he or she will receive at least one postcard 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 with, 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 a different Postcrosser.[8]

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.[9]

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.[10] “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?”[11]

The project started initially as a hobby for Magalhães, but its unexpected success revealed that the idea was more popular than he ever predicted. He initially 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.[12] It reached the second million on February 26, 2009, with a postcard that traveled from Germany to Norway.[13] The third million was reached on September 24, 2009 with a postcard traveling from Finland to Slovenia.[14] The fourth million was reached on March 28, 2010 with a postcard traveling from the Czech Republic to the Netherlands.[15]

Postcrossing.com celebrated its five-year anniversary on July 14, 2010 with a photography contest for its members.[16] 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.[17] The 7,000,000th postcard was sent on April 4, 2011 from China and received on April 19, 2011 in the Netherlands.[18] The 10,000,000th postcard travelled from Japan to Germany and was registered on January 27, 2012;[19] the 15,000,000th postcard travelled from Germany to Italy and was registered on December 31, 2012.[20]


Date Time (UTC) Million postcards from --> to
April 11, 2008 4:00 p.m. 1  Turkey -->  Romania
February 26, 2009 6:30 a.m. 2  Germany -->  Norway
September 24, 2009 4:10 p.m. 3  Finland --> Slovenia
March 28,2010 11:20 a.m. 4  Czech Republic -->  Netherlands
August 24, 2010 8:00 p.m. 5  Italy -->  Norway
December 30, 2010 12:00 p.m. 6  Spain -->  Germany
April 19, 2011 7:00 p.m. 7  China -->  Netherlands
August 2, 2011 11:30 a.m. 8  Finland -->  Japan
November 3, 2011 07:00 a.m. 9  China -->  Russia
January 27, 2012 4:50 p.m. 10  Japan -->  Germany
April 3, 2012 9:10 p.m. 11  United States -->  Iceland
June 12, 2012 7:30 p.m. 12  United States -->  Netherlands
August 22, 2012 06:10 a.m. 13  Hong Kong -->  Russia
October 25, 2012 9:50 p.m. 14  Netherlands -->  Honduras
December 31, 2012 1:46 p.m. 15  Germany -->  Italy
March 4, 2013 08:21 a.m. 16  Ukraine -->  Russia

See also

References

  1. ^ "Postcrossing.com Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
  2. ^ "Postcrossing. History". Postcrossing.com. 2005-07-14. Retrieved 2013-01-23.
  3. ^ Magalhães, Paulo. "Postcrossing". Retrieved 2009-01-01.
  4. ^ 129860, Sho (2006-05-08). "Postcrossing - The Postcard Crossing Project". BBC H2G2. Retrieved 2009-01-01. {{cite web}}: |last= has numeric name (help)
  5. ^ "Postcrossing front page". Postcrossing.com. Retrieved 2013-03-18.
  6. ^ Postcrossing statistics page
  7. ^ Magalhães, Paulo (2010-03-28). "Postcrossing Stats". Retrieved 2010-03-28.
  8. ^ Crews, Barbara (2007-07-01). "Random Postcards from Around the World: Postcrossing!". about.com. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
  9. ^ Magalhães, Paulo. "Postcrossing - Help - How many postcards can I send?". postcrossing.com. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
  10. ^ Faxon, Hilary (2008-07-17). "Interview: Paulo Magalhães, Founder of Postcrossing.com". shanghaiist.com. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
  11. ^ Widmer, Laurent (2008). "Where is your postcard?" (PDF). Union Postale. Retrieved 2009-01-01. [dead link]
  12. ^ postcrossing.com (2008-04-11). "Postcrossing Hits 1 Million Exchanged Cards". prlog.org. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
  13. ^ postcrossing.com (2009-02-26). "2 million received postcards! YAY! Can you believe it?". Retrieved 2009-03-02.
  14. ^ postcrossing.com (2009-09-25). "One, two, three! 3 million postcrossing postcards!". Retrieved 2009-09-26.
  15. ^ postcrossing.com (2010-03-28). "4 000 000 postcards!! :D". Retrieved 2010-03-28.
  16. ^ postcrossing.com (2010-07-14). "5 years and counting". Retrieved 2010-07-14.
  17. ^ postcrossing.com (2010-08-24). "5000000 postcards received!". Retrieved 2010-08-24.
  18. ^ Postcrossing post 7,000,000th card[dead link]
  19. ^ "10,000,000 registered postcards!". Postcrossing.com. 2012-01-27. Retrieved 2013-01-23.
  20. ^ "15,000,000 postcards registered!". Postcrossing.com. Retrieved 2013-01-23.
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