Posting and Posting

Do you think the generation starting school next year will know that post and posting has any application other than an electronic one?

Closing Post Offices
It's very hard to find any South African statistics (surprise!) about the business side of the postal service, but if the virtually bankrupt US postal service is threatening to close 3 700 rural post offices, and the UK's Royal Mail (in the process of privatisation) considering the closure of 2000 (again rural) offices,you can bet your brand new shiny Mandela R20.00 note that a similar trend is happening here.

Remaining Relevant - the Post Office
Hats off to several outlets in Jozi, who open much longer hours, even Sundays. Payment of a varied assortment of licenses and bills, usually the source of lengthy waits in queues at their home offices, can be done relatively painlessly at the PO now.  The SAPO attempts to remain relevant in a changing world - good for them.  It's a shame we still don't get parcel / registered letter advice slips, parcels go astray, and international mail is rifled, but well, the more things change....

Like most businesses, I bet the PO loves December for the influx of business in the form of Christmas cards and parcels.  Many retailers do as much as 40% of their annual turnover in November / December, and long may that continue.

But the holly  (or cheap and nasty tinsel) decked halls of the Post Office are probably not ringing with cash registers this year, as electronic mail and greeting cards continue to make inroads into the snail mail market.

It's estimated that in the USA (gotta love that country, they have stats and figures on everything!) the number of traditional paper cards sent in 2010 was 17.4 billion, a sharp drop from the 25.1 billion posted in 2007. 

On the positive side for e-cards - think environmental savings on the carbon footprint not only of the mailing of it, but also in the process of making and printing the cards, glueing the envelope and stamp, and those delightful little  gadgets which make your card sing absurd electronic carols on opening.

e-cards are instant
Big tick for taste and green friendly.  (too brain dead to calculate the manufacuture of the computer and electricity to power it, but factor that in on the negative e-side)  You can set electronic reminders, so little chance of forgetting to send a card.  And if you do leave it to the last minute, well, e-cards are instant, so right up until Christmas lunch, you can be e-mailing your greetings.

Traditional paper cards
The big plus for traditional paper cards is....well, frankly, an emotional one.  It feels as though more thought and effort has gone into the selection, writing and mailing of a paper card.  They look great on mantelpieces and stuck onto the walls, and can be reused every Christmas as part of the decor (recycling!) Buying cards made by self help communities, often using recycled paper, supports needy causes.

And speaking personally, I sit down every year, piles of cards in front of me, and feel connected somehow, the annual process of writing, stamping and addressing a card to a loved friend or family member, often thousands of miles away, penning the long, newsy (and overdue!) letter to enclose, seems to bring them closer, and their dear faces smile at me as I write.

Without a doubt, the number of cards arriving is on the decline, and will continue to do so, I'm sure.  And unless the boys marry rather traditional, old fashioned girls, the chances of cards arriving from them in years to come are slim indeed. 

No more paper Christmas cards
Yes, I'm pretty sure, that within a decade, the paper Christmas card will be a distant memory.  Seasonal greetings, if they happen at all, with be an electronic blizzard of e-cards, texts, BBM's, Whatzapp or Mix-it.  A moment in the mind, then gone forever.  No lingering reminder of the festive cheer to adorn the walls.

Very sad indeed.