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Would You Rather....? Welcome to Formspring!
One of the newest additions to the social media family is Formspring, a simple question and answer based site that appeared in 2009. Originally known as Formstack, the site changed its name in June 2010 after launching a brand spanking new design. Although the site has not yet reached the popularity level of Facebook or Twitter, it is starting to find its place in the virtual world as a way for users to find out more about their friends or even random strangers. The concept is simple, you set up a profile page from which other Formspring users can ask a question and post comments. Questions can either be asked anonymously or other users can choose to reveal their identities. Users can decide whether they want to answer the questions and have the ability to choose which questions are published to their profile page. Like all good social networking sites, users also have the power the link their Formspring profile to their Facebook, Twitter or blog sites in order to gain more followers.
Although the concept is pretty simple, the site has a fairly complex history with plenty of controversy. Its critics believe that the anonymity factor attracts those looking to harass and bully other users. Several reports have already surfaced of teenagers using Formspring to launch hate campaigns with one American teen committing suicide after receiving a barrage of insults through the site. After spending time getting to grips with the site it is hard to ignore the negative questions that seem to pop up on many users’ profiles. Whether it is sly digs about their appearance or full on insults and rumour baiting, the site does appear to provide an outlet for those looking to start trouble without showing their face.
On the plus side Formspring is a fun way to find out things that you wouldn’t have known about your friends with some truly inspired questions being thrown around. So if you fancy finding out how many pairs of socks your flatmate owns or if your best friend would rather ‘have the hands of a monkey or the legs of a goat’ head over to http://www.formspring.me/ and give it a whirl.