Formspring.me
Encyclopedia
Formspring is a social Q&A
website, launched in November 2009. The site allows its users to set up a profile page, follow other users and ask questions from other users. The questions and their given responses are then published on the user's profile page. It is operated by Formspring.me, Inc., a company headquartered in San Francisco.
Questions can be asked with a user's name hidden or they can be visibly sent from another Formspring account, according to the asker's preference. Users can choose to disallow anonymous questions and have the ability to block selected people from asking further questions.
Formstack
as a side-project. They had noticed that most of their users were using the service to create "ask me anything" forms, and decided to launch a separate site to make this easier. At launch, Formspring was referred to by its full URL, formspring.me, to distinguish it from Formstack, which was at that time also called Formspring.com. Formspring.me gained 1 million registered users in its first 45 days, so the original Formspring website was renamed to avoid confusion between the two sites.
Formspring was soon spun-off into a separate company and moved to San Francisco, California
. Due to its sudden popularity, a number of websites quickly implemented similar features, such as Ask.fm, Tumblr
, and MyYearbook
's "Ask Me" services. On June 3, 2010, Formspring launched a major redesign, overhauling every aspect of the website.
In response to its growth, Formspring received a $2.5 million series A round of funding from a large group of angel investors, including SV Angel, Lowercase Capital, Kevin Rose, and Dave Morin. In January 2011, it received an additional $11.5 million series B round of funding from Redpoint Ventures and Baseline Ventures. On June 28, 2011, Formspring announced that its 25 millionth user had signed up.
.
In September 2011, Formspring released an iPhone Application.
and bullying, due to the anonymity of the entries. A fight between several students at a Harrisburg, Pennsylvania high school
, which started after an argument over Formspring, received some media attention in February 2010. On March 12, 2010, a news article, which later turned out to be a hoax
said that the creators planned to reveal personal information about their users spread on Twitter and other social networking sites. Formspring has stated on its company blog that it will never publicly reveal anonymous information of its users. On March 22, 2010, a 17-year-old West Islip, New York high school graduate committed suicide, reportedly after dozens of insulting comments about her had been posted on Formspring in the days leading up to her death. Soon after, a local grassroots boycott of the Formspring site began.
Another incident of bullying involving anonymous harassment on Formspring happened in September 2011. A fourteen year-old student, Jamey Rodemeyer
, from Williamsville North High School
committed suicide on September 18, 2011 after repeated incidents of bullying in real life and on Formspring. Rodemeyer's "It Gets Better
" video specifically calls out Formspring as contributing to the anti-gay bullying impacting his life.
Formspring participated in a March 2011 White House Conference on Bullying Prevention along with MTV, Facebook, Survey Monkey and others. At the conference Formspring announced that it is working with The MIT Media Lab to develop new approaches to detect online bullying, and to design interfaces which help prevent it or mitigate it when it does occur.
Q&A
-General:* Q&A is a media relations technique whereby public relations professionals attempt to anticipate journalists' questions on a particular issue and provide answers in order to prepare their spokespeople for press conferences and interviews...
website, launched in November 2009. The site allows its users to set up a profile page, follow other users and ask questions from other users. The questions and their given responses are then published on the user's profile page. It is operated by Formspring.me, Inc., a company headquartered in San Francisco.
Questions can be asked with a user's name hidden or they can be visibly sent from another Formspring account, according to the asker's preference. Users can choose to disallow anonymous questions and have the ability to block selected people from asking further questions.
History
Formspring was launched in November 2009 by the designers of online form builderWebsite builder
Website builders are tools that allow the construction of websites without manual code editing. They fall into two categories: on-line proprietary tools provided by web hosting companies, typically intended for users to build their private site; and software which runs on a computer, creating pages...
Formstack
Formstack
Formstack is an online form builder which enables users to create any type of online form, including surveys, contact forms, event registrations, order forms, and much more. You can then integrate the form into your website and begin collecting data...
as a side-project. They had noticed that most of their users were using the service to create "ask me anything" forms, and decided to launch a separate site to make this easier. At launch, Formspring was referred to by its full URL, formspring.me, to distinguish it from Formstack, which was at that time also called Formspring.com. Formspring.me gained 1 million registered users in its first 45 days, so the original Formspring website was renamed to avoid confusion between the two sites.
Formspring was soon spun-off into a separate company and moved to San Francisco, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Due to its sudden popularity, a number of websites quickly implemented similar features, such as Ask.fm, Tumblr
Tumblr
Tumblr is a website and microblogging platform that allows users to post text, images, videos, links, quotes and audio to their tumblelog, a short-form blog. Users can follow other users, or choose to make their tumblelog private. The service emphasizes ease of use. The site ranks as the 10th...
, and MyYearbook
MyYearbook
-History:myYearbook was initially created by two high school students, David and Catherine Cook, and their older brother Geoff, during Spring Break of 2005. Catherine persuaded Geoff, who founded EssayEdge.com and ResumeEdge.com from a dorm in 1997, to invest in their project...
's "Ask Me" services. On June 3, 2010, Formspring launched a major redesign, overhauling every aspect of the website.
In response to its growth, Formspring received a $2.5 million series A round of funding from a large group of angel investors, including SV Angel, Lowercase Capital, Kevin Rose, and Dave Morin. In January 2011, it received an additional $11.5 million series B round of funding from Redpoint Ventures and Baseline Ventures. On June 28, 2011, Formspring announced that its 25 millionth user had signed up.
Features
Users of the site can follow others privately. While logged in as a registered user, people can also ask questions to his or her followers from the homepage. Formspring also asks one question per day named "Formspring Question of the Day" which is flashed in user's inbox. In January 2011, Formspring added a smile button which acts similar to the like button on FacebookFacebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
.
In September 2011, Formspring released an iPhone Application.
Controversy
Formspring has garnered some controversy, especially among teenagers, for the perception that it opened the door for harassmentHarassment
Harassment covers a wide range of behaviors of an offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behaviour intended to disturb or upset, and it is characteristically repetitive. In the legal sense, it is intentional behaviour which is found threatening or disturbing...
and bullying, due to the anonymity of the entries. A fight between several students at a Harrisburg, Pennsylvania high school
Central Dauphin East High School
Central Dauphin East High School is a large, urban, public high school located in Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. It is one of two high schools operated by the Central Dauphin School District.-History:Central Dauphin East High school opened in 1961...
, which started after an argument over Formspring, received some media attention in February 2010. On March 12, 2010, a news article, which later turned out to be a hoax
Hoax
A hoax is a deliberately fabricated falsehood made to masquerade as truth. It is distinguishable from errors in observation or judgment, or rumors, urban legends, pseudosciences or April Fools' Day events that are passed along in good faith by believers or as jokes.-Definition:The British...
said that the creators planned to reveal personal information about their users spread on Twitter and other social networking sites. Formspring has stated on its company blog that it will never publicly reveal anonymous information of its users. On March 22, 2010, a 17-year-old West Islip, New York high school graduate committed suicide, reportedly after dozens of insulting comments about her had been posted on Formspring in the days leading up to her death. Soon after, a local grassroots boycott of the Formspring site began.
Bullying
A further incident of suicide allegedly prompted by bullying on Formspring was the untimely death of 15-year old Natasha MacBryde, from Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, United Kingdom. The Coroner's inquiry heard that she received anonymous personal abuse via the website on 13 February 2011; this appears to have compounded bullying and teenage anxiety into a level where, having researched suicide methods, Natasha took her own life on the 14th February, 2011. According to the Daily Telegraph: "Det Sgt Shanie Erwin told the inquest that Natasha was known to have received a short anonymous message containing personal abuse via the Formspring networking site on Feb 13. The message, which was read to the jury by Det Sgt Erwin, derided Natasha for “hiding” behind make-up. It ended: “Start acting nicer to people or you will lose everyone. Mark my words.”Another incident of bullying involving anonymous harassment on Formspring happened in September 2011. A fourteen year-old student, Jamey Rodemeyer
Jamey Rodemeyer
Jamey Rodemeyer was an openly gay teenager, known for his activism against homophobia and his videos on YouTube to help victims of bullying. He took his own life as a result of the constant bullying he faced. Rodemeyer has since become a symbol of bullied adolescents and teenagers who identify as...
, from Williamsville North High School
Williamsville North High School
Williamsville North High School is a public high school in the Williamsville Central School District of Williamsville, New York. The school offers a comprehensive program with multi-level instruction in many academic areas. The school is accredited by the New York State Board of Regents. During...
committed suicide on September 18, 2011 after repeated incidents of bullying in real life and on Formspring. Rodemeyer's "It Gets Better
It Gets Better
It Gets Better is an Internet-based project founded in the United States by Dan Savage and his husband Terry Miller on September 21, 2010, in response to the suicides of teenagers who were bullied because they were gay or because their peers suspected that they were gay...
" video specifically calls out Formspring as contributing to the anti-gay bullying impacting his life.
Formspring participated in a March 2011 White House Conference on Bullying Prevention along with MTV, Facebook, Survey Monkey and others. At the conference Formspring announced that it is working with The MIT Media Lab to develop new approaches to detect online bullying, and to design interfaces which help prevent it or mitigate it when it does occur.