Now, what in the world am I talking about?
Ladies and gentlemen, it's called Postcrossing.
You can go the their website here. I've been a member for about a month now.
The tagline on the website said; 'send a postcard and receive a postcard back from a random person somewhere in the world!' and that is exactly what it is. Of course you can read everything you need to know there but as I have nothing else to do in this gloomy weather, I'll try to explain it.
How can I get involved in this thing?
1) Sign up for an account. Fill up the form, and give your valid, full house (and email) address. Your email is important because you will be notified about everything there.
2) If you want to receive a postcard, you have to send one first. So at the left bar, click 'Send a postcard'.
3) They will give you a random stranger's address and their profile(a copy of this will be sent to your email). Most likely in their profile they will state what kind of postcard they like and dislike, whether they want it in an envelope, if they like to collect stamps, etc. You will also be given a Postcard ID, like MY-12345.
* You might want to check the user's postcard wall and see if he/she has received a postcard from your country, and not send something like they've received before :P
4) Buy a postcard, write your message on it, and ALSO the Postcard ID(write it anywhere on the postcard but not on the address area because it might confuse the postman with that being related to the address.)
5) Put a stamp on it and mail it! The average time your postcard will be received by the recipient is about 10 - 20 days.
6) The receiver will then register the postcard based on the Postcard ID. You will be notified about this in your email, like this;
7) After he/she registered it, you're now in the line to receive a random postcard from a random stranger, from anywhere in the world!
8) And so the cycle repeats. The more postcards you send, the more you will receive!
I can make the simplest things to turn complicated but that's basically it!
Also if you're from Malaysia, one postcard typically costs about RM 1, though I found a shop in Lowyat that sells it for RM 0.80. DON'T BUY IT AT BORDERS. They sell it for like RM 1.80 each O_O
You can go to Central Market and there are a LOT of souvenir shops selling postcards.
As for the stamps, one RM 0.50 stamp is enough for one postcard, to anywhere in the world! :D
Is it safe to give your full house address?
I know you must be wondering the same thing. At first I was skeptical about it, you know how stalkers can easily get your house address and track you down. But so far, it's safe. They don't give out your house address to anyone, and they won't put it on your profile. Only the person who will send you a postcard will receive your house address.
So it's just postcards?
You can send anything! A letter, a gift, a birthday card if his/her birthday is coming up. But postcards are the simplest (and cheapest too) so most people,if not all, will send postcards.
What should I write on the postcard?
Anything! Most of the users there don't mind what's written on the postcard. But don't make it too short or just a simple 'Hello from Malaysia have a good day!'. Of course you can do it like that but I personally prefer to write something long(duh no surprise there). If it's a picture of KLCC, I would write something like it being one of the tallest building in the world and a good shopping place. Hahaha. I'm sure the recipient will appreciate that(eventhough it's something Google-able) more than just a one-word hello.
Any other questions you can refer to the website or can ask me personally.
So, picture time!
What I wrote. I HAVE HORRIBLE HANDWRITING I KNOW(and also I had too much to write so I had to make it smaller -,-)
I just mailed these two days ago.
I received this yesterday! It's from Taiwan.
What she wrote.
I JUST LOVE THE WHOLE PROCESS OF IT.
Buying postcards and stamps.
Writing messages on it.
Dropping the postcards in the mail box.
Receiving thank-you messages from the receivers.
Receiving postcards from someone, somewhere halfway across the world.
It's just, joy rising :D
(Yeah I borrowed that word from Oprah)
You made someone's day when they receive a postcard from you, which in turns made your day. And then when you receive a postcard, that, too put a smile on your face.
It's just a cycle of pure happiness and joy :)
No comments:
Post a Comment