Spring.me: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 11:37, 9 May 2018

Revision as of 00:07, 28 May 2018

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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 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/68VMxwD10?url=http://about.formspring.me/press#faq |archivedate=2012-06-18 |df= }}</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|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/68VMzEx4p?url=http://blog.formspring.me/2010/06/did-formspring-get-a-facelift/|archivedate=18 June 2012|df=}}</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>

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== 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 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100301090358/http://media.www.uctangerine.com/media/storage/paper815/news/2010/02/26/Entertainment/Formspring.Sparks.Curiosity.Caution-3879960.shtml |archivedate=2010-03-01 |df= }}</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=https://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 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/68VN1hxm1?url=http://blog.formspring.me/2010/08/can-you-tell-me-who-asked-me-an-anonymous-question/ |archivedate=2012-06-18 |df= }}</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 MacBryde 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 MacBryde for “hiding” behind make-up. It ended: “Start acting nicer to people or you will lose everyone. Mark my words.”<ref>{{cite news|url=https://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>

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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|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130316062516/http://formspring.wordpress.com/2013/03/15/formspring-is-shutting-down/|archivedate=16 March 2013|df=}}</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"/>