Round The World Envelope Race Recap

I promised you a while back in Next Stop On The Great Round The World Envelope Race that I would recap the results of this momentous undertaking.

This refers to a round-the-world blogger relay race pitting two teams - Manila and Power-Tac - against one another. The team to send its envelope - complete with logsheet and local memorabilia - first back to London would win.

I was part of Team Power-Tac.

After receiving my envelope, I sent it off to Jodi in Australia. She describes it all in The Great Round The World Envelope Race [fun to see the same envelope elements!] before sending it off next to Simone in Italy.

Although I had hopes that Team Power Tac might win, I learned that the winner of the Great Envelope Race was Team Manila -- our most worthy opponent! I love Ruben's [from britpopcorn.com] reaction to the news. Congratulations!

What fascinated me originally with the concept was the combination of old and new. Old in terms of using envelopes and the mail to move physical items from point a to point b. New in terms of using social media tools to keep track of the the phyical item's progress around the globe.

There were unexpected surprises. For example, I was stunned that the contents of my envelope [2 tea bags] engaged my sense of smell as they did -- something that no web-based experience can capture. I'm hoping that what I sent Jodi equally engaged her senses as I tried to capture a tactile experience with dried leaves from New Jersey trees. [I also love the smell of dried leaves.]

There were disappointments. I expected to be able to keep better track of the progress of our team's envelope. That happens best through links back to the previous sender's blog or post on the subject. After Jodi, I totally lost 'sight' of it.

In fact, I notice that Team Manila created far more online buzz than did Team Power-Tac. To me, that means that the right team won!

Thank you, Lolly, for the opportunity and the experience of taking part in an around-the-world-envelope race that combines both new and old!

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