INTERMISSION: How did your idea for PostSecret originally come about?

FRANK WARREN: I always felt like people had these rich, imaginative lives that they did not get to share. Everyone has some extraordinary stories. I wanted to create a safe, non-judgmental place to express and share these desires and feelings and hopes and fears so that it could be something special. When I started PostSecret, I was thrilled with the results. It seemed to have resonated with a lot of people. We now have 100 million hits on the blog. It’s gratifying for me to see that other people in addition to me appreciate the humor, poetry and humanity revealed in this project.

It’s very inspirational that new kinds of technology can create the potential for new kinds of conversation. Virtual communities are forming — the birth of Facebook, for example. Artists and entrepreneurs will have the potential to create wonderful projects that can unite us and explore humanity. PostSecret is just the first of many projects that will be exciting for all of us to see.

INT: How has PostSecret changed since it first started?

FW: When I started, I was inspired by Davy Rothbart. Readers would mail him stuff they find. He has a lot of comments and editorials on his finds. I tried doing that at first but understood the power and poignancy of PostSecret, the voices speaking through the postcards. I decided to eliminate everything except for the postcards. I contribute very little to the site, and there are no advertisements. I develop a relationship with strangers, but I am not going to judge it.

INT: What effect do you think the PostSecret project has had on college students specifically? How have college students responded to PostSecret?

FW: One might find a secret that hits close to home. When people make that connection, it can have a deep emotional affect on someone. One realizes on an emotional level that everyone has his own burden. Allows you to feel less alone, more connected.

INT: Is there a single one secret that has specifically affected you?

FW: One I posted last week: “I go to spinning class...” Just kidding. I like the secrets that are funny and hopeful. There was one written on a Starbucks cup — “I give decaf to customers who are rude to me.” Along with the humorous, I like the haunting. One about the Twin Towers — “Everyone who knew me before 9-11 believes I am dead.” It opens up a whole world — imagine the story behind it. Perhaps we bumped into that person today.

INT: How often do people contact you asking if a certain secret was sent in by someone they know? And how often do you tell them?

FW: I always protect everybody’s identities. Sometimes I am bombarded with 20-30 emails — they all think they know who mailed it in. It makes our lives more interesting to imagine it could have been someone we knew.

INT: What do you think is the direction of PostSecret? Do you think it is going to grow into something larger?

FW: I don’t know. I don’t try and lead the project, but be sensitive to it. I have been trusting the journey so far. It’s been leading me on an amazing adventure, [and I] continue to trust it to lead me.

It would be interesting to explore other ways of storytelling. Film, movies — there’s been some discussion about that. We’re still in discussion about a documentary.

INT: If everyone were to send in their secrets, how would society be different?

FW: In two or three more weeks — we will have exchausted all the secrets in the world. [Laughs]

All of us have too many secrets. Some secrets are best not to tell other people about.

INT: The larger media has certainly picked up on this PostSecret phenomenon. What is the attitude of mainsteam outlets to PostSecret?

FW: You understand what it is, so it’s hard to think about what it was like when new. The idea is pretty novel, and there’s many ways to approach it. Some may think it’s about pornography, crimes, self-indulgence, narcissism. You need to see the postcards to understand the project. Then, they have a connection to it. It’s human-affirming, poignant. It’s art, as well as humor, poetry, drama.

INT: You have a lot of holiday-specific weeks, for days like Valentine’s and Christmas. How are those different?

FW: Depending on the cards I show on the website, they will act as model for the cards submitted in the next week. Holiday-themed postings will lead to more holiday secrets. Secrets are more than individual voices, but a conversation. Like with the new book, I tried to arrange the secrets in loose age order. It shows the fascinating way our secrets change as we move through our lives. But also, surprisingly, how they stay the same.

INT: What is the selection criteria for choosing the cards to publish?

FW: Cards that really speak to me, or are surprising. One that everyone can relate to in a new way. Relate to every part of our emotions — funny, shocking, hopeful, sexual. I try to arrange them in a way that is connected. I am trying to be a storyteller by telling a story about our secrets.

There are two kinds of secrets — ones that we keep from others, ones that we hide from ourselves. We can find the opportunity to find secrets we are hiding from ourselves.