On my run today I thought it might be interesting to tie the four parts of a postcard’s story together.

#20 @schnuggelsche

1. Postcard – On a Dailybooth thread I asked people to post a picture comment and I would turn it into a postcard. The response was quite popular. Some images were interesting, lovely or just mundane. I liked them all. Everyone became a postcard. Once I got 32 submissions, I printed out a batch and began mailing them in packets to volunteers.

Jimbonius - happy volunteer

2. Volunteer – This is the person who has happily agreed to receive a packet of 32 postcards, put return postage on them and place them around their hometown. Oftentimes it is somebody who has already submitted an image to become a postcard. I have sent packages to people just interested in placement and nothing else. @Jimbonius added a little paperclip stamp to the back of the postcard so his packet would be easily identified. I liked it so much I have since requested other volunteers personalize their packets too.

Times Square Shuttle Placement

3. Placement – either I or a volunteer places a postcard somewhere in the hopes that a lucky stranger will find it. The volunteer may take a picture showing how and where they placed the postcard. Even better if there is a little description about it like what @Jimbonius did here. This also gives other volunteers new ideas.

OperaCollective Times Square

4. Return – The moment we have all been waiting for; the return of a postcard. A simple message, “please add something and return to me.” is the only instruction on the back of each postcard just above the return address. To the right you will see what people wrote on the postcard that @Jimbonius placed and that they found in Times Square.

solve this

Bonus – Sometimes the lucky stranger who finds the postcard adds a little something extra like a cryptogram, favorite quote, drawing or decoration. I get a really big smile when I see one of these in my mailbox!