Spring.me: Difference between revisions

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Revision as of 09:22, 17 August 2017

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{{For|the online formministry builderumbrella formerlyof known as "Formspring"|Formstack}}www.jesusconnect.chat

{{Infobox dot-com company

| name = Formspring, Incwww.spiritchat.me

| company_slogan = engaging chat that leads to Christ

| logo =

| company_type =

| traded_as =

| foundation =

| location_city = [[San FranciscoDetroit]], [[CaliforniaMI]]

| location_country = [[United States|U.S.]]

| area_served = Worldwide

| founder = AdePastor OlonohTim Pearson

| key_people = Ade Olonoh

| url = {{URL|http://www.springspiritchat.me}}

| num_employees =

| url = {{URL|http://www.spring.me}}

| ipv6 =

| registration = Required to post responses and questions

| launch_date = {{start date and age|20092013|11|1}}

| current_status = Defunct, URL redirects to [[Meetic|Twoo]]open

| discontinued suspension_date = Yes{{}}

| suspension_date = {{end date|2013|5|15}}

| industry = [[Social networking service]]

| language = English

Line 25 ⟶ 23:

| caption =

| advertising =

| website_type = Social Q&Anetwork for Christians website

| alexa = {{IncreaseNegative}} 22,482 ({{as of|2015|06|26|alt=June 2015}})<ref name="alexa">{{cite web|url= http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/springspiritchat.me |title= Spring.me Site Info | publisher= [[Alexa Internet]] |accessdate= 2015-06-26 }}</ref><!--Updated monthly by OKBot.-->

| revenue =

| net_income =

| num_users =

}}

'''SpringSpiritchat.me''' wasis a [[social networking service]]. UntilWe are a rebrandingcutting inedge 2013,Christ it was known as '''Formspring''', a question-and-answer-based socialcentered network launched in 2009 by Ade Olonoh, the founder of onlinepeople formfollowing builder [[Formstack]]Jesus.

As of August 1, 2015, the website has become a portal of [[Twoo.com|Twoo]]; Humor Rainbow Inc does not disclose whether the original contents still exist.

== History ==

started as a chat room ministry on wireclub.com called jesusconnect and has grown into a social network like facebook with emphasis on chatting for a cause, not merely to chat about any random thing,but have deep discussions that lead people into a reltionship with Jesus!

Formspring was launched in Indianapolis in November 2009 by the founder of [[website builder|online form builder]] [[Formstack]], Ade Olonoh. He 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]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ibj.com/formspringcom-changes-name-to-eliminate-confusion-with-social-site/PARAMS/article/18911 |title=FormSpring.com changes name to eliminate confusion with social site &#124; Indianapolis Business Journal |publisher=IBJ.com |date=2010-03-27 |accessdate=2010-11-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://about.formspring.me/press#faq |title=About Formspring |publisher=about.formspring.me |date=2010-10-19 |accessdate=2010-11-07}}</ref> Due to its sudden popularity, a number of websites quickly implemented similar features, such as [[ASKfm]], [[Tumblr]], and [[MyYearbook]]'s "Ask Me" services.<ref>{{cite web|author=Jason Kincaid January 6, 2010 |url=https://techcrunch.com/2010/01/06/tumblr-formspring/ |title="Inspired" By Formspring, Tumblr Launches Nearly Identical "Ask Me" |publisher=Techcrunch.com |date=2010-01-06 |accessdate=2010-11-06}}</ref> On June 3, 2010, Formspring launched a major redesign, overhauling every aspect of the website.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blog.formspring.me/2010/06/did-formspring-get-a-facelift/|title=Did Formspring get a facelift?|last=Watkins|first=Cap|date=2010-06-03|publisher=formspring.me blog|accessdate=3 June 2010}}</ref>

In response to its growth, Formspring received a $2.5 million series seed round of funding from a large group of angel investors, including SV Angel, Lowercase Capital, Kevin Rose, and Dave Morin.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/18/spring-brings-funding-for-formspringme/?_r=0 | title=Spring Brings Funding for Formspring.me | publisher=The New York Times | date=18 March 2010 | accessdate=12 January 2014 | author=Stone, Brad}}</ref> In January 2011, it received an additional $11.5 million series A round of funding from Redpoint Ventures and Baseline Ventures.<ref>{{cite web|title=Formspring|url=http://www.crunchbase.com/company/formspring|publisher=CrunchBase|accessdate=18 August 2011}}</ref> To further guide the site's growth and explore revenue streams for the company, Formspring named Rogelio (Ro) Choy as COO in April 2011.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=TechCrunch|title=Formspring Names Ro Choy COO; Has Answered Three Billion Questions To Date|last=Lacey|first=Sarah|url=https://techcrunch.com/2011/04/21/formspring-names-ro-choy-coo-has-answered-1-billion-questions-to-date/|accessdate=21 April 2011}}</ref> On June 28, 2011, Formspring announced that its 25 millionth user had signed up.<ref>{{cite web|last=O'Dell|first=Jolie|title=Q&A App Formspring Hits 25 Million Users [INFOGRAPHIC]|url=http://mashable.com/2011/06/29/formspring-25-million-users/|publisher=Mashable|accessdate=18 August 2011}}</ref>

In June 2011, Formspring launched features for celebrities to better communicate with their fans, including verified accounts.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Mashable|title=Celeb Q&A: Formspring Adds Special Features for the Famous|last=O’Dell|first=Jolie|url= http://mashable.com/2011/06/10/formspring-celebrities/|accessdate=9 January 2012}}</ref> Celebrity Formspring users can be found on the site’s “Formspring Favorites” section,<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Formspring.me|title=Formspring Favorites |url=http://www.formspring.me/favorites|accessdate=9 January 2012}}</ref> which categorizes verified users by music, comedy and various entertainment verticals. In November 2011, Formspring launched a media partnership program,<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Mashable|title=Formspring Partners With MTV, Hearst And Others For Topical Q&A|last=Kessler|first=Sarah|url=http://mashable.com/2011/11/03/formspring-partners-with-mtv-hearst-and-others-for-topical-qa/|accessdate=9 January 2012}}</ref> partnering for the first time with media outlets including [[MTV]], [[Hearst Corporation|Hearst]], [[Funny or Die]] and [[The Huffington Post]].

As of early 2012, Formspring has reached over 4 billion responses.<ref name="Empson">{{cite web|publisher=TechCrunch|title=Formspring Hits 4 Billion Answers; Transforms Into Content Curator With "Smile Sort"|last=Empson|first=Rip|url=https://techcrunch.com/2012/01/09/formspring-hits-4-billion-answers-transforms-into-content-curator-with-smile-sort/|accessdate=9 January 2012}}</ref> In February 2012, Formspring was named a top ten most innovative social media site by Fast Company.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Fast Company|title=The World's 50 Most Innovative Companies|url=http://www.fastcompany.com/most-innovative-companies/2012/industry/social-media#formspring|accessdate=13 February 2012}}</ref>

== Features ==

Users of the site could follow others privately. While logged in as a registered user, people could also ask questions to his or her followers from the homepage. Spring.me also asked one question per day named "Formspring Question of the Day" which was flashed in user's inbox. In January 2011, Spring.me added a smile button which acted similar to the [[Facebook Like button|Like button on Facebook]].

In September 2011, Formspring released an iPhone Application<ref>{{cite news|title=Formspring launches iPhone App|url=http://www.forbes.com/sites/tomiogeron/2011/09/13/formspring-launches-iphone-app-for-its-personal-q-and-a-service/ | work=Forbes | first=Tomio|last=Geron|date=2011-09-13}}</ref> and several months later, in January 2012, further added to its mobile presence with the launch of its Android Application.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Mashable|last=Kessler|first=Sarah|title=Formspring Launches an Android App|url=http://mashable.com/2012/01/24/formspring_android/|accessdate=24 January 2012}}</ref>

Also in January 2012, Formspring launched two additional features to the service. One new tool allowed users to sort responses to questions by the number of "Smiles" received in order to bring the most liked content to the top of response streams. The added functionality aimed to give users the power to curate the best content on the site. In addition to letting users see their top smiled responses, the new feature allowed Formspringers to view top responses from other users and also see the most smiled responses to a question that was asked to multiple people at once. The second new functionality launched gave Formspringers the option to choose whether they want to publicly or privately follow the accounts of other users. As part of this feature, Formspring users were now able to see how many others on the site are following their account.<ref name="Empson"/>

== Controversies ==

Since its inception, Formspring garnered controversies, especially among teenagers, as it opened doors for [[harassment]] and [[bullying|cyberbullying]] due to the anonymity of the entries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://media.www.uctangerine.com/media/storage/paper815/news/2010/02/26/Entertainment/Formspring.Sparks.Curiosity.Caution-3879960.shtml |title=Formspring Sparks Curiosity, Caution - Entertainment |publisher=Media.www.uctangerine.com |date=2010-02-26 |accessdate=2010-11-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/06/us/06formspring.html | work=The New York Times | title=Teenage Insults, Scrawled on Web, Not on Walls | first=Tamar | last=Lewin | date=May 5, 2010}}</ref> A fight between several students at a [[Central Dauphin East High School|high school in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania]], started after an argument over Formspring and it received some media attention in February 2010.<ref>{{cite web|title=School Disputes Claims of Near-Riot|first=Dennis|last=Owens|url=http://www.whtm.com/news/stories/0210/707982.html|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20100611235957/http://www.whtm.com/news/stories/0210/707982.html|date=February 19, 2010|archivedate=2010-06-11|work=abc27 News}}</ref> On 12 March 2010, a news article, which later turned out to be a [[hoax]], reported Formspring creators planning to release personal information about its users via [[Twitter]] and other social networking sites.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.inquisitr.com/66425/formspring-to-reveal-users-private-data/ |title=Formspring prank story plagues Twitter |publisher=Inquisitr.com |date=2010-03-12 |accessdate=2010-11-06}}</ref> Formspring has stated on its company blog that it will never publicly reveal anonymous information of its users.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blog.formspring.me/2010/08/can-you-tell-me-who-asked-me-an-anonymous-question/ |title=Can you tell me who asked me an anonymous question? |publisher=Formspring.me |date=2010-08-10 |accessdate=2010-12-14}}</ref> On 22 March 2010, Alexis Pilkington, a 17-year-old New York high school graduate, committed suicide,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newsday.com/long-island/suffolk/family-friends-shocked-at-cyberposts-after-teen-s-death-1.1827393 |title=Family, friends shocked at cyberposts after teen's death |publisher=Newsday.com |date=2010-03-23 |accessdate=2010-11-06}}</ref> reportedly after several insulting comments targeting 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newsday.com/long-island/suffolk/after-teen-s-death-3-800-pledge-web-site-boycott-1.1829354 |title=Alexis Pilkington's friends vow to boycott social networking site|publisher=Newsday.com |date=2010-03-24 |accessdate=2010-11-06}}</ref>

In February 2011, an incident allegedly prompted by bullying on Formspring led to the 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; this appears to have compounded bullying and teenage anxiety to a level, where Natasha took her own life on 14 February after researching suicide methods. 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 February 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.”<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/social-media/8653867/Teenager-in-rail-suicide-was-sent-abusive-message-on-social-networking-site.html |title=Teenager in rail suicide was sent abusive message on social networking site |publisher=Daily Telegraph |date=2011-07-22 |accessdate=2011-09-16 |___location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.birminghammail.net/2011/07/22/beautiful-and-talented-teenager-took-her-own-life-inquest-97319-29097736 |title='Beautiful & talented' teenager took her own life - inquest |publisher=birminghammail.net |date=2011-07-22 |accessdate=2011-07-25}}</ref>

In September 2011, another bullying incident, involving anonymous harassment on Formspring, led to the death of a 14-year-old. [[Jamey Rodemeyer]], a student from [[Williamsville North High School]] in [[New York state]], [[United States]], committed suicide on 18 September after repeated incidents of [[bullying]] in real life and on Formspring. Rodemeyer's video, "[[It Gets Better]]", specifically called out Formspring as a factor in contributing to the anti-gay bullying impacting his life.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.buffalonews.com/city/schools/article563538.ece?articleId=563538&pubDate=2011-09-20&order=T&page=3|title=Teenager struggled with bullying before taking his life|publisher=Buffalo News|date=2011-09-20|accessdate=2011-09-20}}</ref>

In March 2011, Formspring participated in a White House Conference on Bullying Prevention along with MTV, Facebook, Survey Monkey and others. At the conference, Formspring announced that it was working with The MIT Media Lab to develop new approaches in detecting cyberbullying, and to design interfaces that would help prevent or mitigate when it occurs.<ref>{{cite web|title=PRESIDENT AND FIRST LADY CALL FOR A UNITED EFFORT TO ADDRESS BULLYING|url=http://m.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/03/10/president-and-first-lady-call-united-effort-address-bullying|publisher=The White House|accessdate=18 August 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=O'Dell|first=Jolie|title=Formspring Takes a Stand Against Bullies — With Help From MIT|url=http://mashable.com/2011/03/10/formspring-bullying/|publisher=Mashable|accessdate=18 August 2011}}</ref> In January 2012, Formspring also announced that it was a sponsor of the Great American NO BULL Challenge, a nationwide video contest that encourages teenagers to stand up to bullying.<ref>{{cite web|title=Introducing the Great American NO BULL Challenge|url=http://blog.formspring.me/2012/01/introducing-the-great-american-no-bull-challenge/|work=Formspring Blog|accessdate=5 February 2012}}</ref>

The concept of Formspring was copied by the creators of [[Ask.fm]], who used the same format of allowing anonymous questioning by people who knew each other offline, which some experts believe is a toxic mix that will inevitably lead to trouble for some users. Both sites have been linked to several teenage suicides.<ref>Binns, Amy (2014) Twitter City and Facebook Village: teenage girls' personas and experiences influenced by choice architecture in social networking sites. Journal of Media Practice Vol. 15, Iss. 2, 2014 http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14682753.2014.960763 free version available at http://www.academia.edu/9345514/Twitter_City_Facebook_Village_Teenage_girls_personas_and_experiences_influenced_by_choice_architecture_in_social_networking_sites</ref><ref>Binns, Amy (2013) Facebook’s Ugly Sisters: Anonymity and Abuse on Formspring and Ask.fm. Media Education Research Journal . Volume 4, Issue 1. ISSN 2040-4530 http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/8378/</ref>

== Closure and rebranding ==

Formspring announced it would be closing over the months of March and April 2013. The reason for the closure was that it had "been challenging to sustain the resources needed to keep the lights on."

According to the announcement, asking questions on Formspring would be disabled on March 31, 2013, and the entire site would be shut down permanently on April 15, 2013, after which, all content on the site would be deleted.<ref name="Formspring is shutting down">{{cite web|title=Formspring is shutting down|url=http://formspring.wordpress.com/2013/03/15/formspring-is-shutting-down/|accessdate=16 March 2013}}</ref>

On March 31, 2013 a short updated statement was released which stated "Great news! We have a last-minute deal in the works that will help keep Formspring up. More details to follow in the coming week."<ref name="Formspring is shutting down"/>

On May 8, 2013 a statement on the main page was issued stating; "5/8/13 – Great news friends, Formspring has been saved and is now under new management. Get ready for some cool and exciting new features. Stay tuned for more updates and happy posting!!". In May 2013, Spring.me acquired the assets of Formspring. Spring.me was officially launched in beta in September 2013 and launched publicly in November 2013.

As of August 1, 2015, the website has become a portal of [[Twoo.com|Twoo]], a social discovery and rating platform.

== See also ==

{{Portal|San Francisco Bay Area|Indianapolis|Internet}}

* [[Social media]]

* [[ASKfm]]

== References ==

{{reflist|2}}

== External links ==

* {{official website|http://www.spring.me/}}

{{Online social networking}}

[[Category:Companies based in San Francisco]]

[[Category:Internet properties established in 2009]]

[[Category:Internet properties disestablished in 2013]]

[[Category:Defunct American websites]]

[[Category:Question-and-answer websites]]

[[Category:Anonymous social media]]