Comments on: Virtual Snail Mail Addresses

By: Virtual Snail Mail Addresses | petebeale

Virtual Snail Mail Addresses | petebeale — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 15:16:25 +0000

[...] read more [...]

By: Virtual Snail Mail Addresses | cletistyler

Virtual Snail Mail Addresses | cletistyler — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 07:18:03 +0000

[...] read more Posted by Filed in Admin [...]

By: Virtual Snail Mail Addresses | freemanstevie

Virtual Snail Mail Addresses | freemanstevie — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 06:07:47 +0000

[...] read more [...]

By: Andrew Mager

Andrew Mager — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 06:13:15 +0000

I would have to claim the address that I grew up on:

Mager
66 Yellowwood Dr.
The Universe, *

By: Cyan

Cyan — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 07:23:18 +0000

Flahute: Very good point! Thanks for the props

Hooray for our most lively discussion!

By: Flahute

Flahute — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 02:36:23 +0000

Cyan –

For business addresses, all you need to do is buy up some land and build the property.

Apple is 1 Infinite Loop, in Cupertino … and I don’t know if they still are, but Seagate used to be on Disc Drive in Scotts Valley.

So when Zivity goes big, buy some land, build an HQ, and name the street Zivity Way! Note I said “when” and not “if” …

By: Cianna

Cianna — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 16:54:38 +0000

And, yes, Cyan. As soon as I figure out how to get my hands on a personal robot, I’m getting one for you, too!

By: Cianna

Cianna — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 16:53:09 +0000

As soon as you start talking business app, I can TOTALLY see it! Also, it seems less difficult because there are fewer businesses who would take advantage of it than people, and it’s more relevant because most businesses still get loads of snail mail and packages. Not only would it be uber-useful to have a perma-forward type vanity address which catches everything when a company moves, but it would also be great for those companies, say, who would find it useful to have an address in the easy-to-remember San Francisco when they’re actually based in a relatively unknown place like San Bruno. Doesn’t mean you can’t use the real address, just gives you one that you can always use & forward. Would also help with the annoyingly high costs of changing things like business cards, stationery, directory listings, etc., anytime the business re-locates. Great for growing start-ups, eh?

By: Cyan

Cyan — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 07:55:50 +0000

mmmm. Personal robots! Would you share?

Flahute: Yeah, it is riddled with flaws. I’ll admit it. Keep in mind this idea came to me 10 years ago when snail mail mattered more. Now with electronic billing, it does matter less.

I STILL FEEL BETTER GETTING IT OUT OF MY HEAD!!

I give out my mailing address every day in the business world and if I had 42 Zivity Way, I’d be stoked. I mean, c’mon, think of how many companies would pay dearly for their own street names for billing situations etc. The physical address could also be published if you wanted people to come in.

To be honest, I think the whole zipcode thing was bogus. The idea was that you updated your address through a website with where the mail should actually go. Not much different than a change of address request and how that works today. The post office or remailer would just send it to a new destination.

Your house mates would use the real address. It would still work.

As to your friends and how they get to your house? Give them your real address.

This is for pure vanity only.

By: Cianna

Cianna — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 06:52:49 +0000

There is something inherently appealing to me about this for sure — particularly as someone who has a tendency to move every year or so… I have no idea how it could possibly work, but the concept is very appealing.

Maybe the true solution is to have my own personal robot keeping track of my stuff and helping to re-route things to whatever is my current address.

Oh man do I want my own personal robot…

By: Flahute

Flahute — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 03:08:21 +0000

For all but physical goods, it already exists … I can’t remember the last time I got snail mail other than bills, junk, and packages … but no matter where I go, my email address follows me … if I change service providers, my email address still follows me.

But for true snail mail and packages, there’s just too many variables to keep it going … what if you spend equal time at two locations (for example … home and the office, or summer home in SF and winter home in Park City). Do you then carry multiple permaddresses? Do you constantly update the actual physical location associated with the permaddress?

How do you deal with the other things that can be associated with an address? If your mail goes to 1 Cyan Street, Cyan 94107; where do your friends go when invited to party … how do you give directions?

What about housemates? Would they use your permaddress, or would they have their own permadress to describe the exact same physical location?

You’d end up maintaining multiple addresses to describe the same location, creating a cumbersome system that would create more problems than it would resolve.

I think this may be one of those situations where the current system is actually the best one …