I have noticed a mild resurgence in postcards now that we are all officially sick and tired of text and email, and it's far more personal than asking someone to look at your Facebook photo album.
But...
Why do we send postcards? Is it for the pretty image? Is it for the message? Yes, but ultimately it's because you want to share an experience with someone that matters to you, and you want them to know that you are thinking of them as more than just a fleeting thought. Otherwise, a text message with an image or video suffices.
Bottom line: Simple Postcard would be a lot more interesting if we could physically write in them before they are sent. Just don't take this as a suggestion to use AI to put pen to paper and mimic our handwriting from samples, because that's plain creepy.
Still, it's not quite the same. I want to press my pen to the paper. I want to screw up and scratch it out and remind whomever I'm sending my postcard to that I am a real human being that dares take an extra five minutes out of the day because I care about them.
But maybe if you're sending the same postcard to a lot of people, I could understand why this would be useful. Then again, I would probably just buy multiple postcards and write something different for each person.
Totally agree, which is why we're looking to solve this problem a different way. http://www.facebook.com/greetpoint - join our #handwrittenrevolution! :)
Hi, I clicked your facebook, then your home page, then "learn more" and I still didn't know what you did! I'm not going to sign up for an email just from a slogan.. I suggest you explain your product right on your FB & Homepage so visitors can understand.
A postcard sends an expression of how much you value that relationship. The postcard itself represents time spent by you finding a postcard, writing in it and sending it off during your vacation.
A picture posted to social media has none of this meta-cost and is "cheap".
I think in the early days of texting and social media, the act of using these tools was also high cost. Sending a message costs money, signing up for a social media account, bringing along your cell phone and uploading a picture wasn't always easy or cheap.
Decades ago, I think a long distance phone call was treated similarly for the same reasons. International calls even more so.
How about if they hire people with nice handwriting to write your postcards for you (and compose the message for a little extra) — kind of like the main character's job in Her.
There was a similar thing years ago on HN that was like $4 for a postcard with the image you uploaded. It went defunct, though. I really liked the idea and did try to use it, but it was already in the process of being shut down by its creator.
Given the tone of the site, I assume it's the creator's friend, or maybe the creator. Personally I think it's a hilarious change from the fake-looking testimonials you usually see on startup sites.
Excellent idea for parents and grandparents that may not be into computers and the internet. Even for those that are, having a physical photo and note show up in the mailbox would be a great thing to brighten their day.
Always wondered why postal services don't offer something like this for letters that a sender requires be sent by mail, but giving it to the carrier digitally is okay.
If it was in major cities, literally be possible to send a letter same day.
Oh I see, sorry I'd entirely misunderstood. I was thinking of it on the side of sending things to (say) a bank, rather than the bank sending things to you.
No, I was thinking of me sending things to a bank as well. Like supporting documentation for a loan application which must be received by close of business on this date or the loan will fall through - it may not need to be an original document, but it is in my interest to have third party confirmation that it was received before the deadline.
Mostly to relatives who would prefer to receive mail than email. Otherwise I recently had to communicate with a health insurance company that didn't accept anything by email, and said the images of cancelled checks I faxed them were too blurry to read.
I just came back from a 10 day solo vacation to Europe. Rather than post updates on Facebook I sent postcards to close friends and family each day. It was a lot of fun taking time out of every day to go find a few nice postcards and send a handwritten note. I think the recipients really enjoyed it as well. I'm surprised postcards are around still-- but maybe they'll make a resurgence as people seek to rebuild stronger connections than social media facilitates.
I make my own post cards by printing out a photo that I took on the trip. This lets me practice my local language skills trying to find a printshop and getting a photo printed and mailed. It is definitely loads of fun.
The downside of the idea here is that the postcards will presumably be sent from where-ever they are (e.g. some place in the US) and not from where you are (e.g. some place in Italy) so no stamp, postmarks, etc. as well as no handwritten note.
Perhaps on the plus side: a photograph you took vs. a professionally shot postcard.
I don't know what it is, but there's something about this that i like. Maybe its the "do one thing, and do it right" aspect. (Though it remains to be seen if they do it right.) But I for one wish these guys good luck!
What Payment Gateway are you using? If I'm not mistaken this qualifies as a micro payment (< $5) and the transactions fees can be rather high on a $2 purchase.
I hope you have some human doing image QC or I envision a long conversation with Postal Inspectors regarding all the dick pic postcards that you're sending.
BTW, that said, this reminds me a little bit of rather elegant app developed by Bill Atikinson, "Photo Card", which aims to convert photos in iOS to postcards on demand.
I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that 'Jeff' is at least glancing at each photo before sending it out. (In between complaining about the name and the lack of an app, at least.)
Or maybe they're having the interns do it.
EDIT: That or they're using an algorithm. Lol love the dry copy.
I really enjoy the US Postal Service's $0.39 stamped postcards. There's a blank front, which makes it convenient to sketch what I'm seeing when I'm writing the message. (A few parks, like Yosemite, will frank the stamp from "Yosemite National Park", which is an even more special treat for the recipient.)
They are quite a good value for the money if you are ever in the USA and wish to correspond with friends and are artistic. :)
I love this idea. My cousin and I have been sending each other postcards frequently for years. She's always good about sending them often while I'm only good at purchasing neat postcards with the intent to send them.
There aren't any example shots of the post cards.. How do these things look? I've stayed away from similar products because they have logos and unwanted crap on them.
I've been using Postagram (https://sincerely.com/postagram) for a few years to send a card to my grandmother regularly from my smartphone. The cards look great, cost $1, and have the image in a perforated square which can be punched out of the card, with the description on the back. They have a solid app with tracking and history. Hard to beat that, but maybe the feature that Simple Postcard has is fitting the image to a 4x6 area (full front of the card) rather than the smaller square (3x3", I think) on the Postagrams.
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[ 3.2 ms ] story [ 135 ms ] threadBut...
Why do we send postcards? Is it for the pretty image? Is it for the message? Yes, but ultimately it's because you want to share an experience with someone that matters to you, and you want them to know that you are thinking of them as more than just a fleeting thought. Otherwise, a text message with an image or video suffices.
Bottom line: Simple Postcard would be a lot more interesting if we could physically write in them before they are sent. Just don't take this as a suggestion to use AI to put pen to paper and mimic our handwriting from samples, because that's plain creepy.
But maybe if you're sending the same postcard to a lot of people, I could understand why this would be useful. Then again, I would probably just buy multiple postcards and write something different for each person.
Because our mothers are scared of smart-phones :-)
A picture posted to social media has none of this meta-cost and is "cheap".
I think in the early days of texting and social media, the act of using these tools was also high cost. Sending a message costs money, signing up for a social media account, bringing along your cell phone and uploading a picture wasn't always easy or cheap.
Decades ago, I think a long distance phone call was treated similarly for the same reasons. International calls even more so.
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8154009
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2437819
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10726897
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9003880
Edit: yup. :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEgk2v6KntY
I can't wait!
If it was in major cities, literally be possible to send a letter same day.
- Proof of receipt
- Proof of ID
- Time of receipt
- Proof of address
- Etc
Interesting, thanks.
(Demand, tech, staffing, costs, fraud, legal, etc)
Two years later, I still see them on people's walls.
The instagrams lay forgotten only dredged up by facebooks memory algorithms. Sometimes. Maybe. Even then only for me.
Postcards >>> social media.
Perhaps on the plus side: a photograph you took vs. a professionally shot postcard.
Hilarious!
Here's one, but there are others: http://gifpop.io/products/patakk-six
Edit: that's pretty sweet tech though
It would be pretty cool to try something more advanced like facial rec or seam carving [0]!
[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NcIJXTlugc
BTW, that said, this reminds me a little bit of rather elegant app developed by Bill Atikinson, "Photo Card", which aims to convert photos in iOS to postcards on demand.
Those exist? I thought that nobody (including the government) was supposed to look at, touch, or investigate mail (except from prisons IIRC)
Legally, you can't mail any "obscene, lewd, lascivious, indecent, filthy or vile article, matter, thing, device, or substance"
Or maybe they're having the interns do it.
EDIT: That or they're using an algorithm. Lol love the dry copy.
They are quite a good value for the money if you are ever in the USA and wish to correspond with friends and are artistic. :)
This was a really nice speedy flow.
For some reason I expect the sms interface to be more human and cheeky. I guess it's the weird AI chat bot trend.
There's nothing on them except what you add.
https://lob.com/services/postcards/pricing
I would recommend buying a 5 digit MMS number, to add some more obvious legitimacy to the service.
Edit: Short codes cost $500 on Twilio :O
https://www.twilio.com/help/faq/short-codes/can-i-send-or-re...
We use an algorithm to scale and crop your image to fit the card.
Can I send a GIF?
We don't have the technology to print GIFs yet. We have some interns working on it."
This is a prank, right?