Wish You Were Here - Postcards

In an age of messaging immediacy, the postcard stands out as an archaic relic. Equal parts slow, limited, and considered, sometimes a postcard’s journey originate on a disused wire rack, a spinning metal tumbleweed that tourists examine, consider and walk by. After perusing the available selection, a traveler may revisit their experience through the memories invoked from the manufactured sites and vistas: a hike recently completed; a night out (whose impact has yet to be thwarted by the cafe down the street); a tall building in holiday regalia, both celebratory and offensive. After remembering where that pen went, a barely legible message is scrawled (as who practices penmanship?), an inscription added, after which the true journey begins: where is the nearest Post Office? Do they even exist in this remote coastal town? How long will it take to get there? I will be home before this arrives, what’s the point?

This app allows one to share a single photograph with another, in an act of kindness while separated across space and time. A postcard can be authored either straight from the app, or by starting with a photograph from any application and sharing it. Text, when applied to create a unique object, manifests as a physical postcard sent in the mail to the intended audience.

What makes this experience unique is what happens after the postcard is sent. Each purchase entitles the author to a conversation, as every physical postcard sent includes a QR code, unique to the recipient. When the recipient receives the postcard, they can respond as quickly as possible: select a photograph, write a brief message, send. To: and From: addresses are not necessary, as that is defined by the original author. 

What was once a solo method of communication is now a social experience. The traveler’s destination is no more important than the lived experience of the recipients, as the journey is what matters most. The pending conversation between friends takes place over weeks, not seconds, and the physical artifact is a persistent reminder of the bond and exchange.

Share your photography. Reply to your friends. Let them know that you "Wish You Were Here" by sending them the gift of a postcard.

Features:
- Send a postcard in minutes, receive a reply weeks later (roughly 7-10 days each way)
- AppClip support for replies: no app necessary to respond
- Playful experience for browsing your previously sent postcards