As I was cleaning through my book cupboard, a dusty pinkish envelope caught my eye. Pulling it out from under a heavy book, I gently opened the flap. An old familiar greeting card peeped through the triangular opening in the envelope. As I slid the card out, nostalgic scenes from my student days began playing in my head, like a trailer of a movie.
Greeting cards were such a rage in the 90s. I still remember how school and college-going girls and boys bought cards for every occasion to convey their feelings to their friends and family. Whether it was a birthday, a wedding anniversary, Diwali, Christmas, New year, or even Valentine’s Day, a card almost always did the job with flowery quotes, conveying emotions way better than the mundane words ever could. Archies and Hallmark invented new occasions and ‘days’ to sell their wares and consumers just followed them like the Pied Piper.
With the world going digital in a big way in the last couple of decades, greeting cards have almost become relics. However, we still rely on flowery quotes to convey wishes, don’t we? The quintessential ‘Good morning’ messages as well as motivational quotes on WhatsApp are proof that cards are still relevant, although in a digital avatar.
When the COVID pandemic engulfed our world in early 2020, most of us started working from home and adjusted to our digital lifestyles. With teams becoming virtual, we soon realized that the physical distance between our colleagues and friends over an extended duration is a pain more than a convenience. Most companies are waking up to the fact that ‘Technology brings teams closer’ was not entirely true.
As social animals, we crave companionship. And most companies and their HR teams have realized this. They have tried their best to keep us engaged with team-building activities, albeit conducted via digital channels. Though this experience doesn’t match the real thing, it has helped maintain the camaraderie to a certain extent. We have celebrated special occasions like a teammate’s birthday, a colleague’s farewell, festivals like Diwali, etc. virtually this year; a first for many of us.
In these trying times, e-Cards have emerged as a blessing in disguise for geographically dispersed teams. With more and more companies deploying virtual teams globally, there is a growing demand for this product offering. Whether we want to appreciate a co-worker or a team for a job well-done or celebrate a personal milestone, digital e-cards are easy to use, and a seamless medium for tech-enabled teams of the future.
Customizing these cards on a digital platform is simple and the flexibility they offer, is the icing on the cake. They not only allow us to express our feelings in beautiful words, but also enable us to share our emotions using images and videos, enhancing the recipient’s experience. Storing these memories in digital form is also hassle-free.
With simplicity and convenience bundled with the flexibility and choice they offer, digital e-cards are here to stay.
The world around us is rapidly adapting to the digital way of life.
I’m in. How about you?