Mailing a standard, first-class letter will now cost 45 cents.

Email, meanwhile, will still be free. As will Facebook and Twitter.

The cash-strapped U.S. Postal Service announced Tuesday that it will increase postage rates on Jan. 22, including a 1-cent increase in the cost of first-class mail, to 45 cents.

Under the law the post office cannot raise prices more than the rate of inflation, which is 2.1 percent, unless it gets special permission from the independent Postal Regulatory Commission. The PRC last year turned down such a request.

The post office lost $8 billion in fiscal 2010 and the bottom line is likely to be even worse when final figures for fiscal 2011 are released next month.

It’s losing money because it’s: 1) Heavily unionized, meaning large costs for benefits; and 2) Based on an old and fading business model. The Associated Press reports that the postage hike will “only make a small dent” in those losses.

Other price changes include:

• Post cards will go from 29 to 32 cents each.
• Letters to Canada and Mexico will increase in cost by five cents to 85 cents each.
• Letters to foreign countries will go up to $1.05 each.
• Prices for advertising, magazines, and parcels will increase by 2.1%.

With the exception of parcels, which I send through cheaper and more effective alternatives like FedEx or UPS, I can do all of that through email or Facebook for nothing. And instead of one generic picture from a postcard, I can upload multiple personalized vacation photos to share with all of my family and friends. More and more people are moving towards doing the same.

Sure, there’s something to be said for a tangible letter or postcard. But relying on some folks feeling nostalgic and therefore springing for more costly and time consuming methods isn’t a viable, long-term business model.