There's a card for that?
Written: Aug 16 '00
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Now as part of the Excite family of web sites, Blue Mountain Arts has been around for years offering free electronic greeting cards for everything from birthdays to days like Bad Poetry Day and weeks like Truck Drivers' Week. Didn't know if you could find a card specific enough to your situation? 9 times out of 10 they got it. About the only time I wasn't able to find a card for a specific situation was for something like a hysterectomy/vasectomy. And if you are creative, you can go through their design-a-card process, where you can make that card they don't have a specific one for.
Interface
Since the beginning of time, their interface hasn't changed much at all. While they keep coming up with more obscure holidays and the occasional new category, the basic process of sending a card is the same. Pick card, enter name/email, send. They now even let you maintain an address book and include your own voice with the cards. Some cards even let you include music with the cards. And, they've internationalized the site well, offering interfaces for Italian, French, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese, Korean, Japanese, and Chinese. Some cards are just the English version with the text translated and others seem to be specific to the other language.
Java / Flash
Looking for something more than a plain postcard-style electronic card, where all you get is the picture and some text? Some cards offer games that let you dress an elf, find the acorn under the moving cups, and more. Just something more than a plain message that requires the recipient to click to open the card or get an extended message. Even if the recipient has an older browser, the action can be seen through multiple images that the user clicks on to go to the next, further down the page.
Advance Sending
Besides the wide variety of cards available, I would have to say my favorite feature of the site is the ability to send cards in advance. Though limited to about one month in advance, you can visit once a month and create all the cards necessary for the next 30 days, specifying exactly which day of the month you would like the card sent. You have to be careful about time zones, as you don't want to send them late to your European / Asian friends. Too bad you can't pick the specific time you want the card sent, too. Unfortunately, I had the misfortune of presending some cards that never went out due to a site failure last year. It wasn't like the cards were delayed, they didn't go... Oh well. I guess saying something is lost in the email is better than spending $3 for a card and having something lost in the snail mail...
Curious if someone receives the card? You can be notified when the card is read. That is when they go to the Blue Mountain site to read the card, not when the email goes out for them to pick up.
Overall a great site to find any card. Can't beat the price
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
jaz
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Member: John Zukowski
Location: Boston, MA
Reviews written: 18
Trusted by: 4 members
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