History of eCards

It was just a little over a decade ago that electronic cards (or e-cards) appeared on the scene. E-cards are greetings that can be sent over the internet. Some are animated, some play sound and others are simple greetings featuring graphics and words. Almost as soon as the first e-card appeared on the internet, the market exploded and suddenly everyone was sending e-cards! E-cards became so popular that other "virtual greetings" businesses began popping up. Soon people were sending virtual gifts, virtual food and even items found while virtual dumpster diving.

Obviously some businesses tried to capitalize on the electronic greeting craze by requiring users to purchase subscriptions to e-card services. Fortunately for each subscription service that appeared even more free e-card services were set up. Now you can find free e-cards for just about every occasion. The most famous (regular) greeting card company prides itself on having a "card for every occasion" but this is truer in the e-card market! If you can't find the free e-card you are looking for, there are some free e-card businesses that will let you create your own!

Here are a few benefits of free e-cards:

Free E-cards save time. Instead of driving to a card shop and spending your lunch break or evening looking for just the right card, you can browse the vast selection of free e-card sites when you have spare time—no matter where you are! E-cards are also delivered instantly so you don't have to worry about whether or not someone will receive your greeting "on time." Of course, there are so many varieties of free e-cards that finding the one that is one hundred per cent perfect might take more time than you'd have spent in the card shop.

Free E-cards save money. "Regular" greeting cards are now as much as three or four dollars per card and that's before you purchase the postage it will take to send the card through the mail. They also save money on the gas you would have spent driving to and from the store and the post office. The most important way that free e-cards save you money is that you can send the same free e-card to multiple recipients. With "regular" greeting cards, you need to purchase a separate card for each person receiving the greeting. With free e-cards, simply enter the e-mail address of each person you want to send the greeting to.

Free E-cards are better for the environment. Free e-cards do not require any deforestation and they don't create any waste (unless someone prints them out)!

People love free e-cards because they are great ways to reach out to the people around you. They offer you a way to thank someone for their time or tell them that you are thinking of them. You can send birthday wishes, holiday greetings and even event invitations, all by using free e-cards! In 1997, people thought e-greetings could be a fun way to communicate. Who knew free e-cards would become one of the most accepted forms of online greeting?