I've Got a Secret

Well, frumps, it’s time to lighten up a little after the weighty goings-on of the weekend.

I’ve found something, recently, that can’t really be classified as a “find,” I guess, since a couple hundred thousand people also know about it. That would be the excellent idea and the website that it spawned known as PostSecret.

Frank Warren claims that the idea came to him in a dream while he was visiting Paris. Whether that is true, or not, is immaterial to me because the result is such a Great Notion that it doesn’t really matter how it arose.

PostSecret is one of those very simple, very clean ideas that grows real legs, quickly, because it resonates on such a deep, primal level of human psyche. As I said, the idea is simple: everyone has a secret that they would love to unload.

Frank Warren has said, “All of us have a secret that would break your heart if you just knew what it was.” He created PostSecret to provide a forum for people to unburden themselves.

Back in 2005, Warren invited the public, via the blogosphere, to mail in postcards and anonymously share their secrets. Like the 200,000 individuals that have taken Frank up on his offer, every “secret confession” is unique. Many are mini-works-of-art, some are more primitive and obviously dashed off in a hurry, others are refreshingly uninhibited. Some secrets are funny, some are smart-ass, some are heartbreaking but all are very, very human. Here’s a taste:

Spending time on PostSecret is a little like having a real heart-to-heart with a friend or relative. One goes away with a deeper understanding and empathy for the mundane little moments, decisions and crises that make up a life. It doesn’t even seem to matter that these are all strangers, what matters is someone cares enough to send in their secret and someone else cares enough to read it and ponder.

The website has grown along with the community that has formed around PostSecret and there are now videos, a forum, live journal, speaking engagements and museum exhibits. Frank Warren has also collected some of the best secrets into books that are published by Harper Collins and sold on the PostSecret website.