In this article, we are going to talk about a member of the nocturnal tribe and his ongoing project.
Mofei, a slash IT engineer, jokingly refers to himself as someone who studied psychology, as a Scorpio he hopes to open a café in the future to share stories from his travels around the world.
In 2018, Mofei left a Beijing BAT company where he had worked for three and a half years and returned to Shanghai. Coincidentally, I know about the foreign unicorn company he is currently working at, and although the domestic team is only at a startup scale, the technical requirements are particularly high. This endorsement piqued my interest in getting to know the person. He was indeed interesting.
At the last nocturnal tribe gathering, he mentioned that he used to love postcards and in his spare time created an online exchange tool based on postcards (referred to as the postcard project). Due to time constraints, we didn't dive deeper into the topic. Hence, we had a second chat at Wework on Weihai Road, where he works. It’s a place that also holds many interesting experiences for me.
According to the tradition of the nocturnal tribe, I suggested starting by having everyone use a brush to draw their current state.
(My drawing, bright and scattered circles, with blue outlines, symbolizes my mood slowly settling into a calmer state.)
(Mofei's drawing)
Q: "What are you drawing?"
A: "It represents my recent inner state, constantly integrating various resources, then gradually rising to achieve. A saturation of busyness on a physical level."
Q: "What have you been busy with lately?"
A: "In my spare time, most weekends, I'm trying to build a remote collaboration community with some old friends. Internet professionals often have more active thinking and dislike monotonous office work, so we want to change the current working state of internet professionals through this format. One friend in travel has an idea for a travel app, so he handed this project over to the community team to develop, of course, the community team will also have various projects, which may include the postcard project.”
Q: "Could you elaborate on the postcard project?"
A: "It’s an online postcard exchange app platform. Registered users can randomly select an address of a stranger each time, then they can write down their feelings and stories, and send out a postcard. This way, the sender will also receive a postcard from around the world. The postcards are open to all kinds of illustrators, designers, or individuals to participate in production. There are many possible scenarios, including bookstores, tourist attractions, homestays, art galleries, etc. Users of the platform only need to engage in the writing process, while the venue providers handle the mailing and even payment. The providers benefit from being more promoted and providing a good user experience."
Q: "What is your positioning for this project?"
A: "It originates from personal hobby, I never thought of monetizing it. I hope that players who love it and have passion can come together to make it happen. If it grows later, besides the venue partners, the platform itself can also develop a profit model. I am very confident in this project."
Regarding postcards, many people have sent quite a few before. They write one to a preferred friend when visiting different places. It’s even more exciting and heartwarming to receive a postcard from friends. Over time it gradually decreased. The replacement from offline to online (images, texts, various designs), the acceleration of the pace of time, the hassle of the mailing process, all play a part to some extent. After hearing about Mofei's project, I realized that although it’s still about postcards, the underlying concept is quite different.
What you receive is a story and greetings from around the world. It’s also from the sender. It’s not aimed at maintaining existing relationships but creating new connections. Unknown yet real. Because of the unknown, it feels more authentic. Writing the freest emotions, the most relaxed inspirations, and the stories you want to share on postcards, to send them to a stranger. Meanwhile, looking forward to receiving another stranger's letter.
Q: "What are you currently lacking at this stage?"
A: "I have previously produced a batch of postcards for trial runs, and the user base grew very quickly. But I hope this idea isn’t wasted. The patents are already in place, and the technology is mature. It’s just that funding and players are not available yet, so I am quite cautious about promotion. If I can find suitable angel investors, interested venue partners, and graphic designers, then I can really invest in it and get it going."
So that day after our discussion, we agreed to host an offline gathering. This will be specifically open to those interested in the postcard project. Since we need like-minded promoters or players to step in, we’re making a call here.
If you are an illustrator, designer, product manager, investor, or responsible for tourism platforms/art exhibition halls/homestay platforms... or just a partner who is very interested in the project, please contact me on WeChat to sign up (Wechat:15285060531)
Content: Engage with Mofei and co-create the postcard project
Date: To be determined based on the availability of participating partners
Location: Shanghai
Fees: None
To control the quality of communication, there will be a limit on the number of participants.
