The 2 Questions I Asked PostSecret's Frank Warren
Posted by junger - 01/15/09 at 06:01:42 pmOn Wednesday night, I went (with Dave Weinberg) to hear Frank Warren, the founder of PostSecret, speak about his site and social media.
It was a fascinating look into one of the most revealing, personal Web sites ever. Not that Frank himself has much to do with the content — besides picking out the postcards that go up online — but about how people are willing (and almost need) to share some of their deepest, darkest secrets.
If you've ever been to PostSecret before, you know that the site is little more than a free Blogger account. No custom theme, no ads, no comments, etc.
Warren stumbled into PostSecret — he found the niche, set a couple of wheels into motion, and has watched it blossom.
In reality, he's definitely not the poster boy for social media. He has, however, turned his site into a mega-successful business (books, speaking, and events) by building and harnessing a community.
So rather than ask him a lame question, like the guy who wanted to know how software helped him succeed, I asked two practical, real-world questions.
- What does your mail carrier think?
- Can you ever move?
You see, all of the PostSecret cards are mailed directly to Warren's house — not to a PO Box, but to his actual home address. And he gets up to 1,000 postcards each week.
In fact, he says that a copy of his book, which features his address on the cover, was once mistaken for a package and mailed to him.
So how'd he answer?
He pulled up a picture of Cathy, his mail carrier, and said she gets a nice tip every year.
And if he ever does move, the person buying his house will either love it or hate it.
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Great questions. That's hilarious that his book was accidentally mailed to him!
Comment by Noah Wolfe — January 16, 2009 #