I've Got a Secret

What are your web vices? We all have them, whether it be Woot, Fark, or any other site we compulsively check for reasons other than work or news. One of mine is PostSecret.

In 2004, a man named Frank Warren started a community art project in which he encouraged strangers to send in decorated postcards detailing their deepest, darkest secrets. Two years later, Warren has received postcards from all over the world, and now posts them on his website, PostSecret.com.

The rules for submission are simple: a secret must be true, and it must be something you've never told anyone before. Submitters are encouraged to make their postcards artistic.

Every Sunday new secrets are posted: some funny, some sad, all thought provoking. Warren gives us a look into the personal lives of strangers, and out of voyeuristic curiosity we cannot help but look. Sometimes we even see ourselves.

I've not yet sent in a secret, but I can see why so many people do. It's a means to catharsis for those who have let their secret(s) eat away at them. By anonymously putting their dirty laundry out for the world to see, they share their burden with the PostSecret community and perhaps feel a little less alone.

The message of PostSecret is simple: everyone has secrets. And maybe if we were a little more honest with each other, we wouldn't feel the need to share our secrets with total strangers, or peep at the secrets of others. PostSecret is a manifestation of our culture, and I'm not ashamed to admit that it's become one of my vices. Check it out and it may become yours.