In Postcrossing you put your address, and then you can request a random one. You put an ID, so when the recipient receives it, they register that number and you get a postcard from a random member.
So far I've gotten 2 from Taiwan, and 1 from Germany and Belgium.
I'm excited to find my next stash of cards to send out! It really is such a wholesome activity.
I've been sending postcards to a list of ~15 local friend and family for the last couple years. I travel a lot for work so have a lot to send. I get so few responses, only 2 people have ever replied, and one of those was some random person I met on Discord. I really wish more people would send mail. My mom will occasionally text me to say she liked the card, but she never seems to get the hint that I'd super appreciate a physical response even if it's some scribbles on notebook paper in an envelope. I teared up a little bit when I got my first postcrossing card.
PS. Another fun game is to see what's the most cryptical, vague postal address that does the job. See:
- What is the minimal possible UK address? – https://hkrn.ws/34995370
- Falsehoods programmers believe about addresses – https://hkrn.ws/5791489
Those are the top-two places I see them when traveling abroad from the US.
One petty complaint - generally across the world, stamp design has nosedived. Compared to old postage stamps, they have terrible typography and gaudy colours. I've generally been disappointed when buying stamps to put on postcards. Old stamps were truly works of art.