Comment U. S. Postal Service to Offer Free Postcards (Score 1) 540
U. S. Postal Service to Offer Free Postcards
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Postal Service announced today that it would offer a free postcard service. The service known as FreeMail will debut later this summer and provide people with a way to communicate without paying the price of postage.
"We now have a low-cost alternative to postcard-rate stamps." Stated Postal Service Spokesperson. "When sending a postcard, all you need to do is write a small 'X' where the stamp goes and its free." The service will permit the Postal Service to scan the contents of your postcard message and print targeted text advertisements in the available blank-space. "We promise not to use any annoying images so the advertisements will be in unobtrusive red lettering."
Privacy advocates raised concerned about the scheme stating that it violated the basic trust of the government to transport the mail. The Postal service addressed these concerns by saying, "A FreeMail postcard is scanned by a computer that analyzes the text and based on the the location of the mailing, the destination, and the subject-matter of the sender's message, the recipient will see a pizza delivery number or coupon code for a local dry-cleaner. its really a great way to promote local business." The spokesperson also indicated that the postcards would be rarely analyzed by a human and the text of the messages would only be kept for "a short while" to identify message trends and to fine-tune the system. "You can always pay your 23 cents and send it by regular mail."
"We expect airlines to be some of our first advertisers, displaying flight deals to some of the exotic locations that the postcards are mailed from. Of course, if the postcard says 'This place is terrible,' then you may see an ad for a car dealer instead." The Postal Service stated that FreeMail would only be available for hand-written postcards. "We don't want a pizza delivery ad printed on a postcard from a realtor. That would be tacky."
The Postal Service Spokesperson concluded by saying, "We just hope we don't get Slashdotted with mail."
