Formspring

Formspring put a question box on every profile and made anonymous curiosity part of teen internet culture.

A question box changed the relationship between a profile and its visitors. Someone could prompt a response rather than only read what the owner had chosen to publish. Answers then became public pieces of self-presentation, shaped partly by the curiosity of other people.

Anonymous participation was central to both its appeal and its difficulties. It made asking feel less exposed, while leaving the recipient to decide which questions deserved an answer. The original Formspring era is remembered through that tension between playful conversation and the pressures of a public inbox.

The anonymous Q-and-A social network closed after a short, intense run.