Hi!
I would like to ask a few questions…
Who/ How is the card design chosen?
What are some popular topics/ activities?
Thanks in advance!
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In my experience, the card design for the meetup (whether a face-to-face meetup or virtual) is created by the person(s) hosting that event. It is often thematically or geographically related to the event. One needs to take care to provide proper attribution for any content/imagery used, and not to violate any copyrights. This includes the Postcrossing logo (there is guidance regarding the Postcrossing log on the main site in the “about” section.
Popular topics of discussion can include anything postcard or postal related, as well as philatelic topics. Activities often include raffles or games based on postcard collecting or thematics. Prizes are sometimes offered, again, usually a set of postcards of some sort.
The core activity at face-to-face meetups is card signing. Generally, the host comes with some number of cards printed, and they are all passed around to get all attendees to sign each card. Signatures may be done manually, but many people also use rubber stamps or stickers to represent themselves (this also goes more quickly). The goal is to get all the cards signed by every attendee, and then each attendee leaves with a set (some number) of signed cards. Customarily (at least in my experience) then attendees offer to contribute to the cost that the host took on to have the cards printed. Some hosts accept such offers, others decline. I have yet to attend a meetup (face-to-face or virtual) where the host demanded payment.
My experience at this point includes attending 4 face-to-face meetups pre-pandemic (one of which I hosted) and 7 virtual meetups, (three of which I hosted). I will be hosting another virtual meetup on 22 MAY 2021 at 1500 Easter Daylight Time, it is listed on the postcrossing calendar (Mid-Atlantic Postcrossers) and you are more than welcome to join us to get an idea of what such events are like.
While most of us prefer the face-to-face meetups that occurred pre-pandemic, there does seem to be a growing interest in continuing virtual meetups as well, even after the pandemic permits the return to face-to-face events. I believe that this is primarily due to the fact the face-to-face meetups generally are attended by local postcrossers, but virtual ones allow for a more geographically spread group. In short, you get to meet postcrossers that you might otherwise never encounter at a virtual meetup.
It is my belief that both forms of meetup have a place in the hobby, and bring positive aspects to it
Hope this helps!.
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THANK YOU. You explain things EXTREMELY well! I must have asked the correct questions because I have the information I was looking for. I GREATLY appreciate your time, and experience!
Happy to help Tracy, in my mind, this hobby is about giving joy to strangers. Just pay it forward!
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I agree 100%.
I’m a people- pleaser by nature so if I have the means and the time to accommodate something from the wish list, or in the Spread the Joy section, I’m all over it! I LOVE this!
I asked my questions earlier because I’ve organized a small group of postcard swappers- with high school classmates. For the most part, they are all very into it! I’d like to host a meet up with them over the summer.
Is there also a list of Meet ups via Zoom for this year?
I think it would be nice to be able to talk with members from Postcrossing from all over the world!
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Unfortunately, there is not a separate list for Zoom meetups. The host has to list that is is virtual via Zoom in their listing. I have found that the best means is to find them is to look at all upcoming listings on the calendar. I did a quick search this morning, and here al the virtual meetups currently scheduled for June (all times listed here are local):
Taipei 12 June 1300 (No language listed)
Phillipines 12 June 1400 (Tagalog/English)
Poland 19 June 1200 (this one is in the Polish language)
Germany 02 July 1600 (No language listed)
It is in your own best interest to check out the individual listings to make sure I have the details right, I’ve not yet had any tea this morning!
Our group, the Mid-Atlantic Postcrossers (east coast U.S.A.) has been hosting one every two months or so. Our last one was a week ago, we’ll likely host another in July or August.
I wish they would make a separate category for these, they are a wonderful opportunity fo us to meet postcrossers around the world!
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That would be great!
Thanks for your quick response 
Hi,there!
I’m going to have a meetup in Osaka, Japan on 3.July.
I posted the information of the meetup about one month ago.
But I can’t find it on the Meetups calendar.
Could you post it?
Thank you:)
That meeting was originally set for 29 May and so it was on the calendar under that date.
You changed the meeting date to 3 July
but the meet up in Osaka was
postponed to July 3rd because of COVID-19.
As it was already on the calendar for May we don’t see the changed date.
I have updated the calendar by removing the May meeting and added it to July.
Vicki
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Thank you for your support,Vicki!
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Hi Jessica! 
I’m afraid meetups can’t be added afterwards. The main purpose of adding them to the calendar is to allow members from the community to join them too, which can’t happen afterwards. This is also why it’s recommended to always add them well in advance so that others have a chance to consider coming too (some people may have to make travel arrangements, etc). Maybe for next one? 
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@eta55
hi, do you mean that virtual meet up can’t be listed on the web event ?
we’ll have online meeting this Sunday…
and we don’t arrange many meeting in a year, so it’s a special one for us.
thanks
What I meant is that the Postcrossing site is set up to organize the event listings by location, or on the calendar page by date. Because virtual meetings are, in a sense, location less, they are not set up to accommodate that. Thus you have to list the virtual meeting as occurring somewhere (we use the home location of the host for ours), so that the time issue gets covered correctly. You can list your event on the site, it is just clunky. But because of that, it is difficult to search for virtual events to attend. Best practice is to list that the event is virtual in the title of the event, then end users can easily see that on the calendar,
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@meiadeleite @Star-Mix-1982 (I found the link finally, sorry for messaging you before)
Thank you @eta55 for the lessons learnt and writing it down here. Am I correct, that there are no upcoming virtual MeetUps?
I would like to organise a face to face meet up in London (UK). (I have never attended one) I would be interested if you could share an learnings from physcial meet ups?
If I was to have a Design Card made (I would pay for it),
- How does the card signing work?
- Who pays the postage, or
- What account does the postcard come out of?
I have about 21 slots that a postcard could be sent, but do I share that with others in the meet up?
- Do people generally like visiting Postal Museums and then do postcard signing?
- Do MeetUp normally happen in cafes? Do you tell the cafe in advance?
- What is the best number for a Meet Up? Min 8 slots up to 20 slots?
Any other learnings/ experiences from Face to Face meet ups?
Thank you for your tips and answers!
Seaview
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Face-to-Face meetups lessons learned:
Bottom Line Up Front: Attend a few meetups and see how it is done and ask the hosts about their experience. Then cherry pick what you liked about the events and use those aspects to design your own.
At its most basic, a meetup is simply a gathering of those who enjoy this hobby. In general, the most basic activities that people engage in at meetups is a discussion of Postcrossing experiences, and a sharing of one’s knowledge gained. In my experience, the host usually designs and has printed a postcard to commemorate the event. The host usually bears the expense for this process, and does not charge for the card. Usually, that card contains the Postcrossing logo, which can be downloaded from the site, and is copyrighted, so be sure to follow their guidelines. Commonly, all of the cards printed for the event are then passed around amongst the group, and each attendee “signs” the card, either manually with a writing instrument, or by use of a rubber stamp or sticker. Once all of the cards have been signed, the host usually distributes the signed cards to each attendee, so that every one leaves with some. It is also common practice at that point for attendees to address cards to people they share them with (trades, direct swaps, friends, family, whomever), including themselves (always good to send a card to yourself from an event!), so that they can be sent locally with an appropriate postmark. All attendees are responsible for the postage when they send the cards.
Here’s some key gouge:
- Venue: this is the hardest part. One needs to find a venue that will accommodate the entire group, but ideally incurs no cost. Cafes and learning centers in museums or visitor centers, or a table at a postcard show are some ideas here. Some folks are very organized about this and some do it more ad-hoc. Two examples:
a - I recently attended a meetup that was held outdoors in a park, and we commandeered a couple, of picnic tables in the park. We got lucky with available tables and good weather for this one!
b - I have also attended an event held inside a postal museum where the hostess coordinated with the museum to use their learning center (a private room) to host the event.
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RSVPs: great to ask for but don’t count too heavily on them. This goes hand-in-hand with venue, and is part of what makes hosting a challenge. In my experience you will get 30-50% more positive RSVPS than the number of people who actually show up. Life gets in the way sometime, just part of the challenge really! The numbers can vary, I find that the local (or regional) population density can be used as a rough gauge to estimate the number of postcrossers who may be available. You can also search on the postcrosser website to get a sense of how many people in that area are active in the hobby.
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Where to begin (LOCATION): One aspect to picking your location is accessibility. Is there adequate parking available there? Is it near a public transportation hub? Make it easy for your attendees to get to and you will get more attendees! In major urban centers it is often good practice to meet at a given subway/metro/tube stop and then walk to the venue. Consider how everyone will recognize each other (at the last event I attended we all met a DC Metro stop and everyone wore green). The host should consider carrying a postcard!
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With regard to all of the above, consider the aged and physically challenged; postcrossers come in all shapes and sorts of bodily configurations, try to be inclusive as you can!
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Often at an event, the transit from where attendees initially gather to the venue includes shopping stops along the way where postcards can be bought. Postcrossers seem to like postcards for some reason, and this always seems to appeal! Train stations, museums, souvenir shops, visitor centers all may have postcards and all are locations you may be able to leverage along the way.
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Some hosts do much more extensive events, that include a tour of a local landmark first, or some other activity. These are fun, and you learn more, but it takes more time and work to set up, and requires more time on the part of the attendee, and not everyone will want to give up a whole day of their weekend. If you do decide to go that route, make that part optional.
Direct answers to your questions:
- I’ve already answered the first two
- Not sure what you mean by " 1. What account does the postcard come out of?"
- Postcrossers generally enjoy visiting postal museums
- Cafes can be a challenge; in general they expect paying customers, and you will want a fair number of tables all together; it would be best to arrange this ahead of time
- How many attendees? Crunch the numbers. How many cards do you want each person to leave with? How many cards will you need to have printed? What is the cost? Also the more cards you print, the more there will be to sign. The last event I attended had a dozen attendees, and it took us about 90 minutes to sign. I think there were about 500 cards brought and I think we signed 400 of them. Also consider that the card can get kind of crowded with more signatures…10 to 20 attendees is my sweet spot. If you got 20 attendees and printed 250 cards that delivers 11 cards per person. I usually print 500 cards, and I am swimming in extras…good for trade, but many are blank and less useful for trade.
There’s my thoughts and experiences, hope you meet with success and have a great time. I would happily attend an event in London were it not for the Atlantic Ocean, which is something of an impediment for me at this point!
Good Luck!
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Thank you @eta55
I like your response and it has helpful insights.
There is a lot to think about here.
You answered all my questions.
A shame the Atlantic Ocean is an impediment to you joining a Meet Up.
When the day comes, that I host a Meet Up, you will be the first postcard written. I promise.
Have a great summer!
Smiles, Seaview
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I would like to know more information on the meet up in Madison Wisconsin? I was wondering how long it is? And where it is going to be held at? Cuz that’s about the closest place for me. I’m new to these meet ups.