The Jersey Shore
I remember when I was a small boy and used to go with my family to the Jersey Shore in the summer. We would visit the boardwalk in Wildwood and Steel Pier in Atlantic City. This was back in the 1960s and 1970s, prior to the Casinos.
The souvenir shops always had neat things for a young fellow like me at the time, but my favorite things were the postcards. The pictures and colors drew me, like a moth is drawn to a flame. There would be pictures of the Margate Elephant effectionally known as Lucy (a hotel built to look like an elephant), and photos of the shore in its heyday.
The Internet Took My Job!
With the advent of the Internet and smart phones combined with applications such as Instagram, Facebook and other social media apps; the sharing of postcards is not what it once was. In England, for example the Telegram reported this past July that purchase of postcards were down 15 million from 26 years ago. Due to this fact, the oldest Postcard Publisher of the same Country closed its doors after being in business for 140 years!
Another study of two-thousand people in Gatwick Airport found that the Brits sent 60% fewer postcards when on vacation over the last 20 years.
The Postcard Business here in the United States is not fairing any better. As Matthew Tobin, former President of the U.S. Souvenir Wholesale Distributors Association stated in an interview with the Providence Journal in 2013 regarding postcard publishing, probably half what it used to be...
Due to the way the United States Postal Service does processes their mail, there is no way to get a proper number on the amount of postcards processed (postcards using postcard stamps are processed as bulk mail). One can surmise, however; that there has been a drop in the use of postcards in the United States as well.
Give A Smile, Send A Postcard!
Last year some time I received a postcard from @guiltyparties. It is in this apartment somewhere and I wish I could share a picture. It was really nice to receive and really lifted my spirits. I live alone and am always excited to receive real mail. I guess I am old fashioned that way.
Sending a postcard does require a little bit of work. Buying the postcard and stamp to start. Then one must actually use a pen in place of a keyboard to write a short note. Old fashioned as it may be, there is just that special feeling of nostalgia and knowing that we are on someone's mind when we receive a postcard.
I want to thank @thekittygirl for being the inspiration for this little post.
I don't go many places these days, and even fewer with those old fashioned post cards. However, if you DM me your address on Discord, I will keep you in mind the next time I am near a postcard rack! 😊
Loved your post! And it was a very clever answer to the contest! Bravo!
Congratulations for figuring it out, and thank you for playing along! 😊
I purchased the SBI in your name, and you should begin seeing upvotes from it in 7 days or so!
Postcards were always a family tradition with us, and it was fun receiving in the mail pictures of places people were visiting. I had not really noticed but you are right - they pretty much have died out. Admittedly I don't send them because I hardly ever go anywhere - but all I get in the post now are bills and junk mail. And junk mail bills.
Of course the best way to share your holiday snaps nowadays is to put them in your Steem Blockchain based blog - and e-mail the post link to everyone you know!
#thealliance #witness
Very good advice C0ff33e. I will do that this year! It will be my Christmas Spam Post.
this post is picked for the upcoming teamgood newsletter post about to drop... <3
Thank you so much! I am honored!
I don't send many anymore. Two, in fact one to each of our mothers - and that won't be for much longer :(
I did recently make postcards to send out to tell people my mum had moved to a care home, and popped my email address on them. Had quite a few emails back from people thanking me for the cards. I wonder if (like vinyl) there'll be a resurgence in them (and birthday cards) when people suddenly realise it is nice to get things through the post
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I have heard that some old postcards are collectors items.
Oh yes, you see them being sold at book fairs here in France (and elsewhere I imagine). I am sure some of the rarer ones fetch quite a lot.
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I love the whimsical feel of postcards but I also have to think of the cost to the environment paper presents. There is more to digital media then just the instant gratification aspect . I only buy digital or vintage books for example because I refuse to cause any more harm to our planet then we already do ... I guess if we used recycled , or hemp paper on the postcards it could be sustainable but currently cards are not made that way in most cases. Yes it is unromantic but we are living on a dying world we need to start thinking about everything we can do to save her ...
I could not agree with you more. I am also a tree hugger and like breathing the air they provide!
<3
I still love postcards, particularly retro design ones. I used to send them randomly to friends when I travel, but sadly stopped doing that.
They are cool.
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