¡Hola! Hallo! Halo! Hola! こんにちは! Olá!
Bonjour! Alo! Hej! 你好! Tere! Szia! Привет! Hei!
On April 25th, our screens were filled with happy faces, when 74 enthusiasts gathered for the first international virtual meetup organized by the Finnish Postcrossing Friends Association.
The successful event – quite possibly the first-ever global video-based Postcrossing meetup – was attended by postcrossers from 19 different countries. The Association’s meetups are open to all postcrossers, and a special note had been sent to the Association’s members, as well as to all the international postcrossers who had participated in our various events during 2015-2019. Many of the evening’s participants knew each other from past events, through swaps, or social media, but we were also thrilled for the chance to welcome many first-timers. The evening’s most anticipated guests were naturally Paulo and Ana from the Postcrossing headquarters, and the two were asked lots of questions about Postcrossing and its current status. The pair also received praise and thanks for creating Postcrossing – a hobby that will turn 15 this summer!
During the evening meetup, each participant was allowed to introduce themselves. The introduction round was followed by a show-and-tell session, where participants were given a chance to share a special card with the others. Many participants chatted (by text), and wrote cards while listening to the general discussion. At the end of the evening, we held a ballot to see if there was a call for a second international meetup. The result was a resounding Yes, with 100% of voters wishing for a repeat event.
In addition to Finland, the evening’s participants were from Austria, Brazil, China, Estonia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Spain, Sweden, and the Netherlands.
How had this event come about?
Due to the new coronavirus pandemic, most of the Association’s spring events had to be modified. However, since the Association is flexible and innovative, and since our physical meetups had to be postponed, we decided to hold virtual ones. Before we got as far as the first international meetup, the Association published a set of special cyber meetup cards, most probably the first ones in the world!
The first official virtual meetup was a domestic one – domestic in that it was held in Finnish. The “Easter meetup” was held on Saturday 11th April, and was attended by 45 postcrossers from Finland, Austria, and Sweden. Feedback from this meetup was encouragingly positive, and there was a clear call for such events. Since Postcrossing is an international hobby, we decided to invite our non-Finnish-speaking friends to meet(up) with us.
So what exactly happens in a virtual meetup?
We talk, present our favorite cards, write cards, and enjoy refreshments – just like in any regular meetup. The only difference is, that our cards don’t rotate from table to table. Instead, you might write the number of participants on the cards you send, or – if you feel up for the challenge – even write all the Postcrossing nicknames of your fellow participants. At these events, the atmosphere is relaxed. We need to see each other through video links, so to participate, you need is a device with a microphone and a camera and a working internet connection. The next domestic (Finnish speaking) virtual meetup will be held on the 21st of May, and the international one on the 6th of June. We will announce future cyber meetups on a special cyber meetup info page, where you can also register. Don’t hesitate, join us!
Greetings from our meetup guests
It was a GREAT and WONDERFUL meetup! For me, it was totally a new experience to “meet” so many members from various countries at the same time! Personally, I felt a bit intimidated to speak out in such a huge group without knowing a soul in person… Having said that, I had fun hearing others speak!
Hilkka’s (Chairperson for the association) sister Helka invited me. Here in Japan, we don’t have many Postcrossing meetups. In 2018, an Indonesian member asked me to set up a meetup when she was coming to Tokyo. I arranged one, and it turned out to be a lively international gathering, even with a student from China. I really enjoyed that Tokyo meetup, so I wanted to join another again!
It was a huge honor to have been allowed to join! Thank you very much. I can imagine it took a lot of time and energy to organize an innovative meetup, as I had once arranged a regular one in Tokyo before. The Åland meetup sounds so interesting and tempting! It is just a dream for me now. Again, please kindly receive my heartfelt gratitude for having connected us in cyberspace!
Asami (Japan), QHasamiI think it is a lovely way of meeting during this period. I have really missed the IRL meet-ups and had planned on going to one in Norway and at least one in Finland this year. It is also nice to get faces to Postcrossing nicks.
I participated because I really, really miss the IRL meet-ups, but also because it is so nice to be among friends that all are crazy about writing and sending cards.
Just a big thank you for doing this. I really appreciated it.
Hanna (Sweden), hannaahlI liked the virtual meetup a lot. It was nice to see, hear, and get to know postcrossers from all over the world. This was the first Postcrossing meetup I’ve attended. Implementing it as an online version felt like a fun and different idea. My participation was also influenced by the fact that it was an international one, and by the thought of meeting other enthusiasts.
Especially during such a special time, an online meetup connects people. The opportunity to participate from your own sofa may also be easier for some participants, so an online meetup is a good addition.
Thanks for the great meetup! Continue the same way!
Elina (Finland), elinannikaIt was a nice meet-up I got to see many new faces of people I wrote cards too. But it was more listening than conversation. Many passive. I wanted to see how an international meeting with many people worked. And I knew some of my friends I had met before were going to be there.
I had two cyber meeting before. This was the most organized. I organized one myself with no muting which was chaos but more fun.
Thank you for organizing the meeting.
Brenda (Netherlands), Exploradora73We thought it was an interesting and fun experiment, especially in these quarantine times. Since there are no meetings we can join these days, we appreciate this chance to talk to other postcrossers, as well as seeing some new and old friendly faces. We were also curious about the format and the execution.
Paulo & Ana (Portugal), Postcrossing.comI liked it very much, it was nice to see postcrossers from all over the world.
I like my card hobby and I like the association’s meetups. I feared that this year’s meetups would be canceled because of the bug, but luckily you came up with these virtual ones.
You held a really nice meetup!
Katja (Finland), PawesomeEssi Huhtamäki
Minna Lehväslaiho
Hilkka Yletyinen