What is an exchange of postcards called? Postcrossing

In the twenty-first century, people increasingly complain that no one cares about paper letters. Fast, convenient, but, alas, unemotional emails have replaced the tedious wait for an envelope in the mailbox, bright stamps, the smell of paper, and the long process of writing a response of several pages. Of course, time does not stand still, but sometimes you still really want to plunge into the atmosphere associated, first of all, with the time when simple letters were in use.

Postcrossing is not a new phenomenon. We can say that this is a unique way of international correspondence. Many people have heard about it, but, however, not everyone knows what the essence of this unique project for our century is. So, postcrossing - what is it, why is it needed and how to enable it? Let's try to figure it out.

Story

The best place to start is with history. In 2005, the Portuguese Paolo Magalhaes, yearning for paper messages, decided to create an innovative project, the essence of which was to exchange postcards from different countries of the world. It would seem nothing special, but today there are entire communities dedicated to this unusual hobby, uniting people of different religions, nationalities, ages and interests. Everyone can find something interesting.

The meaning of the word "postcrossing" comes from the merger of two English words: "mail" and "exchange". By the way, someone says that the idea of ​​​​sending postcards came to Magalhaes after he became acquainted with bookcrossing - this is when books are left in some public places so that other people can read them. In any case, now the post offices of all countries of the world are actively promoting the development of a hobby that allows them to maintain interest in traditional mailing.

How to join

Usually people come to postcrossing who don’t miss paper messages so much as want to learn something new. And the point here is not only that on postcards you can see places that the recipient has never even heard of, animals that have not been seen in any textbook, some fairy-tale scenes that are breathtaking in their realism. Here, rather, the opportunity to be part of a single, global whole that unites different people plays a role.

It is worth noting that many are interested in the word “postcrossing”; we would like to know what it is. Every day the number of fans of this unusual hobby is growing, and you can join their ranks by registering on the official website of the project. You need to indicate your address, then fill out a profile where you select the theme of the desired postcards (this is very convenient for collectors) and tell a little about yourself. Then the resource itself gives out five addresses to which messages can be sent. And with the first postcard dropped into the mailbox, a person becomes a full-fledged participant in postcrossing.

Where are the postcards from?

Where can I get postcrossing postcards? About seven years ago, when he was just starting to make his way into Russian-speaking countries, it was almost impossible to buy decent and beautiful pictures. Now the post office has come to meet people who are hungry for communication: in any postcard you can see a huge number of a wide variety of postcards. Naturally, national themes dominate: rare animals, paintings, photos of theatrical productions, and so on. But sometimes something completely unusual comes along.

You can also buy postcrossing postcards in bookstores. True, they are there less often, but you can still try to look for them. And no one has canceled homemade postcards! This is where most of today's Russian-speaking postcrossers started. Cardboard, markers and imagination can become a real miracle for someone on the other side of the ocean.

Journey of Letters

We also need to talk about how exactly the postcard travels. Postcrossing brands are divided into two groups: priority and non-priority. Messages with the first ones leave by airmail, naturally, they cost a little more, but they also arrive faster. Postcards with non-priority stamps, accordingly, are a more economical, albeit time-consuming option.

The user of the postcrossing site (already mentioned above) registers each shipment. The recipient, when it finally reaches him, does the same, indicating that the postcard has indeed arrived. In this way, the resource monitors the integrity of project participants.

Of course, no one forces you to exchange only pictures: some enclose letters, others - their own photographs, and still others generally pamper their interlocutors with various small gifts. When asked about the word “postcrossing” and what it is, you can easily answer that it is a unique way to get closer to the whole world.

Benefit

But postcrossing is not only about communication. Colorful and unusual postcards can easily decorate a room - just hang them on the walls. Short messages on the back of the messages will help improve your knowledge of English, and the desire to visit this or that place may appear. Some people collect stamps from postcards - the same albums that many people had in childhood, while others cover boxes with these stamps, for example, to create an unusual decorative element. What can we say about the interest in geography, which only grows with every postcard you receive?

Postcrossing. agonizing anticipation of a message, a bright postcard, amazing emotions from the pleasure of holding in your hands a piece of another civilization, sometimes diametrically opposed. There are hardly many hobbies whose emotions can be compared to the feeling experienced from each new message.

Postcrossing.com- a site for people who are passionate about postcrossing. This hobby of exchanging post cards with people from all over the world has now become very popular. Website Postcrossing.com allows you to quickly and easily join the postcrosser community.

By going to Postcrossing.com, you seriously run the risk of “getting sick” with a new hobby. True, it will be your least time- and money-intensive hobby. But at the same time quite interesting. Postcrossing has several attractive features.

• An element of mystery. Postcrossing is organized in such a way that you do not know where the next postcard will come from.
• It's a surprise. All postcrossers talk about the great joy that comes from finding a greeting from a distant country in their mailbox.
• Personal contact. The postcard is intended for you personally, and it is to you that a stranger from another country addresses a few kind words.
• A collecting moment. An active postcrosser quickly becomes the owner of a unique collection of postcards from all over the world, with which he successfully impresses friends and acquaintances.

Well, this process is controlled by postcrosser sites, one of which is Postcrossing.com.

Postcrossing.com

“Initiation” into the ranks of postcrossers comes down to very simple actions.

1. You register for Postcrossing.com and fill out your profile.
2. Get a postal address and send your first postcard to it.
3. Your postcard reaches the recipient and is registered by him on the website. At this moment, your address will be included in the database and will begin to be offered to other postcrossers.
4. Soon you will begin to regularly receive postcards from around the world.

In the tradition of world postcrossing, the use of English is used.However, good knowledge of it is not necessary. Many of the Russian postcrossers make do with Google translator, and this is quite enough for them. So, ignorance of the language is not a valid reason for refusing this exciting activity.

Another common concern is the poor performance of the Russian postal service. In fact, you shouldn’t be afraid of this: once you become a postcrosser, you will quickly see that it works no worse than the postal services of other countries. At least for now.

Now let's quickly go over the main points. There are two small difficulties when registering - write your address And something about yourself.

1. The address is written in transliteration (not in English!), from bottom to top:

• First Name Last Name
• Street, house, flat
• City and zip code
• Region/Province (not required for residents of large cities)
• A country
• Index

Under the field in which you need to write the address, there is a link where you will find the rules and an example of writing the address:

Click on UPU recommendation for Russia and find out...

...rules for writing an address

2. It’s not necessary to write something about yourself, but... you still need to Agree, it’s not interesting to communicate with a person who has a blank page on their profile! In addition, many postcrossers write here about what kind of cards they would like to receive. If you also have such wishes, please let us know.

What to write about yourself

Don't forget to leave the magic words of gratitude at the end:
Thank you for your attention and happy postcrossing!

You must also indicate your gender (“Gender”) in your profile. Here you have five options to choose from. This is not a joke, the authors just added three additional features here.

• First, you can specify “Group” - if, for example, the account is maintained by a married couple.
• Secondly, there is an “Other” item - this is the ability to maintain an account on behalf of (why not) your pet - a cat or a dog.
• And thirdly, there is a clause “Rather not say”.

To get the first address, you need to press the button "Send a postcard", and then "Request address". You will see your addressee, you will be able to find out about him what he wished to tell about himself, and his wishes in terms of the subject of the postcards:

Along with the address, you receive an ID, which you will need to write on your postcard.

Well, then run to the post office for postcards and stamps! Once you have received the address, the countdown begins 60 days within which it must be sent, received and registered. Otherwise, it will be considered lost. But in the vast majority of cases this period is sufficient.

When sending a postcard, it is very important to clearly (and preferably in two places) write the postcard ID, which you will receive along with the address. Exactly Using the ID, the postcard will be registered on the website by the recipient.

On Postcrossing.com there is a limitation - you can send no more than five postcards at a time. Then this limit will increase - the more postcards you send, the more addresses you can receive at the same time.

This limitation is caused by security reasons - there are many people in the world who want to get real addresses of people in large quantities (advertising services and not only). Therefore, you receive the next new address only when the sent postcard is registered by the buyer or after 60 days.

To send a postcard you will need to buy stamps. Currently, the cost of postal items abroad is 23 rubles by land transport and 26 by air. It is advised to stick more stamps, dividing the payment into small amounts, and choose the more beautiful stamps themselves.

On average, for Russian postcrossers their hobby costs 300 rubles per month. Which, as they say, is quite a bit of “unexpected joy.”

Registered postcards in the Postcrossing.com gallery you can watch, comment and add to favorites

Today, many websites are dedicated to postcrossing; there you can find out unclear points and learn many interesting details. For example, that postcrossers often send coins, tea bags, and even souvenir magnets along with a postcard. And, of course, postcrossers love to discuss their trophies on various forums.

Friendships are often formed through postcrossing. Many people include a link to their Facebook in their profile, and many people ask for such a link. Often people agree on a direct exchange of postcards, bypassing Postcrossing.com- exchange congratulations, postcards from travel and just messages.

And now it’s time to name the person who invented postcrossing - this is the Portuguese Paulo Magalhaes. The name, apparently, suggested it - a movement with which we have already become acquainted.

In conclusion, it must be said that postcrossing has some special property that is not clear to those who have not tried it and are looking from the outside. It lies in some particularly sincere joy from receiving a postcard from a distant country and the feeling of happiness that post-crossers talk about. Reading their reviews makes me want to try this activity myself.

I wish you, friends, to do just that. For example, I have already created an account on . Well, and finally, let's take a look at the postcard gallery.

Postcrossing (lit. postal marathon) - communication and meeting new people using postcards.

People have lost the ability and desire to write letters. They only exchange SMS messages, e-mails and immediately delete them. The postmen's “thick shoulder bag” contains only subpoenas to court, the tax office, and the military registration and enlistment office.
Biographers of modern crowd idols will have a very difficult time. After all, where to look for the hidden meaning of their actions, statements, relationships, the origins of fatal mistakes or great insights, if not in correspondence - with friends, relatives, wives, mistresses, patrons and publishers. And it won’t happen. And the collected works will become shorter due to the lack of volumes with letters.

Of course, postcrossing does not set itself the task of reviving the epistolary genre. He is only trying to remind humanity of the existence of pen and paper to express their thoughts. In addition, postcrossing is collecting: addresses, postcards, stamps. And where there is collecting, there is excitement, passion, purpose, hope, in general, life. Not someone else's serial or virtual, but our own.

However, postcrossing still cannot do without the Internet. Moreover, the Internet plays a decisive role in it. There are special sites, in Russian and English, for post-crossers and those who want to become one. The websites outline the operating principle of the entire system.

The system is complex. Even too much. It takes a long time to understand it. Maybe that’s why, according to Wikipedia, only about half a million people from 213 countries of the world are currently participating in postcrossing.

History of postcrossing

The idea of ​​postcrossing belongs to Portuguese students Paolo Mogales and Anna Campos. They came up with and developed the website and its logo. The site went live on July 14, 2005. The millionth postcard was sent in May 2012, the ten millionth in January 2012, and 11 months later the fifteen millionth was sent. Gradually, online stores selling postcards and postcrossing stamps emerged. And the Post of Belarus even announced Poscrossier Days - July 8, October 8, December 8. These days you can send postcards with a 10% discount (although in quantities of at least 10 pieces)

The largest community of postcrossers in the world is Russian - about 60,000 participants. Most postcards travel around the world from Germany - about three million

Video about the movement of postcrossers

About postcrossing from the program “From Morning to Evening” on the TSV channel.

Another video from an active participant in the movement

The topic of this article, in general, is not entirely about travel. We will talk about such an interesting, exciting activity as postcrossing. Why on a travel blog? I will say this: this business very much motivates me, and many others, to travel, to see more and more new corners of the world, about the remarkableness of which. sometimes it is difficult to find information even on the Internet. Moreover, I found dozens of incredible attractions in my area in which. As is commonly believed, there is nothing interesting at all.

Therefore, I decided to prepare this article to tell you just a few words about what postcrossing is in general, why it is needed, and how to become a participant in this “action” right now. If I managed to intrigue you, welcome to the cut, but if not, then you need my other articles 😉

Navigation

What is Postcrossing

In the age of modern technology, paper mail is becoming a thing of the past, unless, of course, you live somewhere in the USA. Although no, I’m lying, in the USA they will only send you spam and invoices in your mail... So, what am I talking about? It’s at times like these that we sometimes feel nostalgic for the old days: how we corresponded with friends, how we played chess by correspondence, how we waited for weeks for an answer to a cherished letter declaring our love. And you really miss postcards. I never thought this would be possible, but getting a little piece of paper in the mail is cool.

And then, in 2005, a service called postcrossing opened on the Internet. It offers everyone an interesting game: you can send postcards to absolutely random people who may be from anywhere in the world, or from a neighboring village! At the same time, you will receive a variety of postcards from other participants.

And so, when you come home, you find a new postcard in your mailbox, with a beautiful landscape or another theme, it doesn’t matter…. It's really nice and interesting. In addition, this thing will appeal to collectors of postcards and postage stamps.

How to take part in the postcard exchange?

Registration at postcrossing (instructions)

The largest resource on postcrossing is the founder of the entire movement of exchanging postcards by mail www.postcrossing.com, one might say - the official website. This is where I suggest you register. To do this, on the main page, in the left blue panel you need to select Sign up(Registration). We will be directed to a page with registration information that we need to fill out.

You must provide the following information:

• Country
• Region (Region, region, land, voivodeship, etc.)
• City\Place
• Username (Nick)
• Email
• Password
• Full Address (your full address, which will need to be indicated on the postcard to other users)

Please note that the full address must be indicated in Latin letters, so that other nationalities can write it without problems, just as the mail can deliver it to you without trying to decipher the hieroglyphs.

This completes filling in the data. Click on Sign me up!(register me) and enjoy! You should receive an email with a link that you will follow to confirm your address.

After this, you can start sending and receiving postcards.

How to send a postcard on PostCrossing

In order to start the process of exchanging postcards for you, you need to get the address of your first recipient. To do this, go to the menu item Send a postcard(send a card). Here you will be warned that you can receive no more than 5 addresses for sending, and the rest - after someone receives your postcard. That is, you sent 5 postcards, 2 of them have already reached the addressee, you can send two more. This limit will gradually increase, depending on your activity.

The basic rule is not to type too many postcards and then not send them.

We agree to these terms, notify the system by checking the appropriate box and continue through Request address(request address).

So, we received another task to send a postcard. At this very moment, someone, somewhere has received the task of sending you a postcard. Moreover, these are different people, the one to whom you will send the postcard, and the one who will send it to you.

You now have some basic information about the recipient displayed on your screen that you can use to write your text. Depending on the completed participant profile, you will be able to find out:

• Username - recipient's nickname
• Name - Real name
• Country - The country where you will send the postcard
• Speaks - languages ​​the user speaks
• Birthday - birthday
• Distance - the distance between your home and the recipient's mailbox.

In addition, as we see, there is other information here. Field Postcard ID- this is an important point. You must indicate it on your postcard so that the person who receives it can register it in the system and mark it as received. Don't forget to include the postcard ID!

Paragraph You should write your postcard to: I think it's clear. This is the exact address that you must indicate on the envelope or postcard so that it reaches its intended destination.

Well, sometimes users write information about which postcards they prefer to send. Read it, it can be useful. A person is asking for a postcard with locks, and you might just have one of those lying around. Why not make a stranger (in my case, a stranger) happy?

How to register a received postcard?

After some time (which depends on the distance to the sender and the post office of your country), when you arrive home, you will find the long-awaited postcard in your mailbox. After admiring it, do not forget to register it in the system before putting it in your collection in a box.

There is a point for this Register a postcard(Register a postcard). Everything about it is simple: select the prefix and enter the ID number specified by the sender of the postcard, and if desired, leave a short message to the sender, for example, gratitude.

If you have the desire and opportunity, you can later upload a scan - a copy of this postcard to your internal album of the service. Then other users will be able to evaluate it. It will also appear in your statistics. Don't forget to check your statistics sometimes. It can be interesting to see how many postcards you sent, to which countries, how many kilometers in total your letters traveled, etc.

Where to get postcards for postcrossing

Quite an interesting question. You can go and buy, for example, on the Internet. I even saw a postcrossing store where they sell postcards for 10 cents from a dollar or more. Or you can go to the post office, where there is an excellent selection (I can’t speak for other countries, in Ukraine this is not a problem).

I, like many, started with the cheapest and cheerful option: postcards with sightseeing (probably because I love receiving them myself), where a set of 10 cost me 50 cents, plus 10 stamps - another 2 bucks . Now I’m already choosing original postcards, all from the same post office. I’m also not looking for any special brands, since we print very cool ones.

Although, if you have extra money and want to please mysterious strangers, you can buy a set of collectible stamps. Here, everything depends on your imagination and desire with possibilities.

At first I sent postcards in an envelope, but then I saw that others were sending without them, and I decided to try it. It turns out that this is what is customary to do. It is important for many to receive a postcard with canceled stamps and stamps!

FAQ

Is there postcrossing in Russian? Where is this site? Postcrossing ru does not open.

I don’t know, maybe there are small copies in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, but I haven’t seen them. And I don't see the point. There is an excellent system that already has millions of users. Everything is accessible and understandable even without knowledge of English. And Postcrossing ru is just a community in a live journal, nothing more.

Where is the best postcrossing shop?

At the nearest post office =)

What to write on a postcard?

The main thing is not to forget to indicate the recipient’s address and postcard ID. Everything else is up to you. I usually write a couple of lines with wishes and from where the postcard is in English, I duplicate it below in Ukrainian. Sometimes I received whole letters with postcards. By the way, this is how correspondence and acquaintances sometimes begin, if you believe the stories on forums for postcrossers.

Why do more postcards arrive than are sent?

It's all about the so-called Expired postcards. If the postcard is not registered by the recipient (you) in the system 60 days after sending, it is declared missing, and your address is sent again to someone else.At the same time, often, especially in Russia, the postcard is not lost, but simply gathers dust somewhere in warehouses until they deign to bring it to you.

I have 10 sent and 1 received, all of which were sent more than 60 days ago and are already expired. What to do?

If six months have already passed (and the mail of the countries of the former USSR has always been slow), then everything is simple. Since you did receive one, it means your address in your profile is correct, and your mail is moral monsters. Either the postcards are stolen or they simply don’t work and they gather dust. Go to the post office and let me search, write a statement about the regular loss of correspondence. The fact is that addresses are given to different people, in different countries, according to the principle of a lottery (randomly). 9 people can’t immediately forget to send. I’m not kidding, this is the first bell, today postcards have disappeared, tomorrow important letters, after tomorrow a parcel with a new phone number will be stolen. Do you need it?

But there are advantages to everything. When all the postcards are found, how many of them will accumulate there! =)

There are lines on the envelope or postcard, as if a barcode was drawn with a pen, orange or black. What are these features?

This is just a bar code. It is applied by automatic sorting machines, encrypting an index in it, and the automatic system reads and sorts it. If they all come to you with such touches, then they bought an automatic sorting machine from you, and if only a few, then it was installed in the sorting mail center of one of your senders. Depending on the center and the installed equipment, the lines are clear, or, as you put it, “drawn as if by hand,” orange or black.

Bar code - dashes on envelopes or postcards

I sent a postcard, but the recipient did not register it

It could either get lost, or the recipient might forget to register it. Send a personal message on the site asking to register the postcard, its ID, and explain that this is important to you. Usually, even if a postcard is lost, it is registered.

Recipients often don't download a copy of the postcard. Can I do this myself?

You can make and post a scanned copy of the postcard you sent before the recipient registers it. In this case, after registration it will appear in your profile. If desired, the recipient will be able to replace it with his own copy at will. You will not be able to upload a scan after registering a postcard.

What is a "canceled stamp" on a postcard?

This is a stamp that has been stamped, meaning it has received a postal stamp, to prevent reuse. As a rule, everything is extinguished. but when there are a lot of them, some don’t “get hooked.” They are valued because they are in the best condition, they can be put into a collection, and you can clearly see what is written on them. Let's just say, look at the new stamp: it is not canceled. Look at the postcards that arrived: 99.9% of the stamps on them were redeemed.

Do I need to include a return address on the postcard?

No, this is not necessary. Yes, and often. There’s simply nowhere to put it there anymore. Although, in this case, they will not be returned to you if they do not find the addressee.

What are “direct swaps”?

Perhaps you have come across such an item in the profile of all participants as Interested in direct swaps. It only has two options: Yes or No. This item shows the readiness of a particular user for a “direct” exchange of postcards. Let me explain the situation: the system has many users from Europe, the USA, Russia and Ukraine. At the same time, in distant Morocco there may be several dozen of them, and even fewer active ones. Therefore, the chances that you will have the chance to receive a postcard from an exotic country are quite small. And sometimes you want it that way, don’t you? Then you simply find a search user from that country. See what's in the paragraph direct swaps stood Yes, make sure that it is active (sends postcards) and read the profile description (where they often write what postcards they want to receive and other nuances). Then write a private message through the system and offer to exchange postcards.

In this case, you will have to send the card to him, and he will have to send it to you. In this case, you need to send the addresses yourself

What should I do if I received a postcard without an ID?

There is a mechanism for searching for an example postcard. It's cleverly hidden. There is a small link on the postcard registration page search the Postcard ID, which leads to the search form. There you need to indicate as much information as you can find out: the country of departure, the approximate date of departure (you can find out by the postal stamp), the name of the sender and ID if it is indicated incorrectly or illegible.

Reader's tip: The wrong answer was given to the question =What should I do if I received a postcard without an ID?= The search is provided on the site and works quickly. On the ID registration page, there is a link to the search form on the right.

OK it's all over Now! Happy postcrossing! If you have any questions, ask!

If you found my article helpful or liked, please share it on social media. It is very important for me. Thank you!

Agree, how nice it would be on the eve of the New Year, Birthday, or some other celebration to take out of the mailbox an envelope or a postcard with a familiar, native handwriting... Recently, in the turbulent era of developed technologies, the usual SMS, emails with their efficiency, Availability has taken the palm, but they are hardly ready to convey all the warmth and sincerity of human communication. After all, even a sheet of paper, in comparison with a field for text, requires a more careful attitude, accuracy of handwriting and thought.

Despite the fact that the fashion for mail correspondence is rapidly becoming a thing of the past, an excellent alternative has emerged for lovers of such communication. And its name is postcrossing.

Postcrossing: what is it?

This is an amazing project through which people from different countries exchange postcards. In order for such “mail” communication to be organized, a special postcrossing website was created in 2005. The author of the unique project is considered to be Paolo Magalhaes, a programmer from Portugal who really loved receiving paper, handwritten letters. The motto of the new postal “movement” was the words: “A surprise in your mailbox!”

How to become a postcrosser?

To get the title of postcrosser, use the following instructions:

1. Register on the site and fill out your profile with short information about yourself.
2. Successful registration allows you to receive up to 5 random postcrosser addresses from different countries. A page with a world map and an arrow will open in front of you, where exactly your future postcard will go.
3. Take her on an exciting trip abroad.
4. Wait for your recipient to receive the postcard. As soon as he receives it, he will immediately register the ID number you left on the postcrossing website. From this moment on, your address will fall into the hands of another random participant, who will send you the treasured postcard.
5. Open your mailbox one day and dance with happiness from the postcard you receive. Don't forget to register her ID number.

Pay attention to some details of the project in order to experience all the delights of exchanging postcards:

• English is a postcrossing language. Although it is possible, at the request of the addressee, to write the text of the postcard in their native language. The address must be written in English.
• There is an unofficial exchange of postcards, the so-called “swap”. This method does not require registration of postcards on the site. And it provides the opportunity for project participants to write letters and exchange postcards on their own.
• You can please and please your recipient. After all, the profile most often indicates which postcards the postcrosser would like to receive.

What's so great about postcrossing?

Postcrossing is an amazing opportunity not only for unusual human communication, but also for learning about the culture of other countries and peoples. Postcrossing allows you to become a collector of wonderful postcards, practice your English, and once again be endlessly happy when you receive a small surprise from your mailbox. And it will really be a surprise, because you don’t fully know from which corner of the Earth the desired postcard should come.

Postcrossing is a great find for those who are looking for positive emotions and miss human attention. And also for those who love to participate, communicate, rejoice, thank, search, give, exchange, show off and, of course, create...