Which celebrities use formspring

It courted celebrity users, and gave them Twitter-like verified accounts. It partnered with media companies to let them ask questions of their fans. On June 28th, , Formspring announced 25 million registered users. It also attracted copycats. Tumblr and the youth-focused social network MyYearbook implemented "ask" features of their own.

The site was an unabashed clone of its competitor — and Ask. One employee said that a network of bots began spamming Formspring users with invitations to join Ask. But to Formspring employees, the bots were an early sign that the Terebins prized growth above all. As Formspring grew, online interactions led to offline conflicts, fueled by the anonymous nature of the communication. Users did not have to register to send messages to one another, a privilege they often abused.

In Pennsylvania, students at a Harrisburg high school brawled after nasty messages were exchanged on the service. Because most of the communications were never posted publicly, Formspring was slow to recognize the bullying that was taking place.

In March , a year-old girl from Long Island committed suicide after receiving taunts on Formspring. The following year, a year-old British girl stepped in front of a train after being bullied on the service. Under growing pressure, Formspring began working with MIT's famed Media Lab to redesign its interface to discourage bullying.

It participated in a White House anti-bullying campaign. In retrospect, some former employees wish the site had placed less emphasis on anonymity. On the other hand, we saw a lot of bad and abusive content come through that channel double duh.

A fact that we wound up being pretty infamous for. Watkins declined to be interviewed about his time at Formspring. The company eventually added features to the site designed to discourage anonymity and bullying. Like Formspring, Ask. Its founders also raised venture capital, though they have declined to say how much, from Latvian venture capital firm Rubylight. Aija Perta, the Rubylight partner who works with Ask. More than Formspring, Ask. All Rights Reserved.

Long Island , New York , suicide , Technology. More from NewsOne. Your email will be shared with newsone. That's why I was so happy to hear Formspring's announcement this morning : They are officially starting to research ways they can stop the bullying that happens on their site. Even better, they are presenting some of their ideas at the White House Conference on Bullying Prevention this afternoon. Click here! I'll keep you posted on what they decide at the conference, but for now, are some tips to make sure you're not getting harassed or accidentally become the bully!

Instead, block the sender and walk away from your computer or phone. Before sending something, take a minute to stop and think about it. You should also check out the TeenAngels, a group of amazing teens across the country on a mission to put an end to cyberbullying.