Postcards: Making a Comeback

Travel Blog  •  Eva Holland  •  04.15.08 | 8:17 AM ET

mailboxPhoto by k.tommy now via Flickr (Creative Commons)

Not so long ago I wrote about the last days of the postcard—now it seems my requiem for a beloved travel souvenir may have been premature. This story in the Globe and Mail suggests that postcards are actually making a comeback, noting that sales, in the UK and Canada at least, have only increased since 2003.

Writer Kira Vermond outlines a few possible reasons for the resurgence: “Maybe the Greeting Card Association in the United States is right when it says electronic forms of communication seem to be bolstering, rather than reducing, paper correspondence such as postcards. The Internet, after all, has allowed people to develop more relationships—relationships that must be maintained. And is the lack of privacy involved in writing and mailing a postcard all that strange in a world accustomed to putting its thoughts out there for all the world to see—on blogs, cc’d e-mails and Facebook?”

Personally, I think we shouldn’t overlook the impact of the inevitably irritating music that comes along with e-greeting cards—it’s enough to drive anyone back to snail mail. But whatever the reason, I’m glad to hear that postcards are back on top.

 

Tags: Global Village, Life of a Travel Writer

Eva Holland is co-editor of World Hum. She is a former associate editor at Up Here and Up Here Business magazines, and a contributor to Vela. She's based in Canada's Yukon territory.


1 Comment for Postcards: Making a Comeback

Maryeileen 04.17.08 | 8:22 PM ET

There is a wonderful website out there for exchanging postcards called PostCrossing:

http://www.postcrossing.com

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