About/

Welcome on Secret Message Service, a small project based on secrets, and more especially how to share, spread and discover them. Let me quickly introduce myself : Lâm , journalist, blogger, fond of projects and experiences.

Below, you'll find all needed information concerning this project. For any further question : hello@secretmessageservice.com

Enjoy !

Lâm

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CONTENTS

What is Secret Message Service ?
Where does the idea come from ?
How does it work ?
Is it free, anonymous ?
Why using S.M.S ?
Why taking photos of them ?
I sent an S.M.S, but it has never been published .
I want to answer a secret, how do I do ?
It's always about love, why don't you vary the subject ?
What about money ?
What's the point of creating an account ?
I saw somewhere on the Internet a similar project...
Is +336 1957 1992 a special number ?
Some secrets look like fakes .
Why do I often read the word "bip" ?
I can't find the number of vote in the tops.
S.M.S was born on your blog, why have you created a devoted website ?
Isn't there an S.M.S blog ?
Who is the owner of these bitten fingernails ?
Have you got some projects left ?
I love the website, who did it ?
I've got a question for you, a suggestion to submit, some help to offer ...

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What is Secret Message Service ? ^
Secret Message Service (S.M.S.) is a project aiming at collecting, sharing and spreading secrets, sent by sms (firstly named "Short Message Service")

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Where does the idea come from ? ^
Secret Message Service has been into my head for a long time . I love the intimacy nature of text messages, and as a lot of people do, I save the most meaningful of them. And 3 years ago, I discovered Post Secret, and loved the project, playing on this overexposed intimacy.
Eventually, I launched the project on December 31st, 2008 , an evening when I particularly wanted to share and read secrets.

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How does it work ? ^
It's really simple. You text me on +336 1957 1992 (06 1957 1992 from France). I receive the messages, photograph them, blur the number and upload it.

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Is it free, anonymous? ^
These are the ground rules. No surcharge, and I commit myself not to publish a S.M.S which could unveil the sender identity.

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Why using S.M.S ? ^
Overall, it's the most democratic mean of expression. Everybody doesn't have an internet connection, or a postcard. However, everybody has a cell-phone today. I wanted people to be able to confide their secrets at any time, anywhere, on a sudden impulse.

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Why taking photos of them? ^

Photography is an important part of my life. It's tacit agreement with the people who confide in me. These images are the symbol that somebody has received and read their secrets . It's also my way to commit, taking photos where I am, in the heart of my life. I'm sort of trading secrets with a part of my own life.

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I sent an S.M.S, but it has never been published ... ^
It happens, and I'm the first to be sorry. There are too much secrets everyday for each to be published, thus, I have to make a choice. Even if there isn't any strict rules I follow, here are some criteria that stop a Secret to be published :
 - Too many spelling mistakes, or missing words, making the message incomprehensible.
 - Messages who mistake secrets with opinions, confidences or thoughts.
 - Secrets answering to other secrets.
- Secrets which are actually questions waiting for an answer.

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I want to answer a secret, how do I do ? ^
It is not possible to do so. Even if tempting, I never respond to a S.M.S. Each message content is only under its author responsibility. Secret Message Service project and its founder are neither judges nor helps.

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It's always about love, why don't you vary the subject ? ^
Simply because Love is the most important source of secrets in one's life ... S.M.S is designed to share these secrets, but also to allow people to testify to their life, in their own way. If I "favor" a theme upon another, it would misrepresent reality. Thus, I try to publish all the secrets.

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What about money? ^
Secret Message is a non-profit making project. You'll never see any publicity or adwords on this website. Furthermore, there is no company behind this project. I just take advantage of my job as a journalist to use cell-phones I test ;)

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What's the point of creating an account? ^
There is a simple reason. I wanted visitor to be able to bookmark a secret if they liked it, found it touching or wanting to share it. When you create your account, you'll gain access to a page where all your faved secrets are shown

Of course, you could make this page private (other visitors won't see your secrets) or let it public (so as to share your favs with other)

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I saw somewhere on the Internet a similar project... ^
Obviously. Post Secret is the most famous, but there are tons of projects orbiting around secrets. Most of the time, it's a kind of confession platform (Forums, Twitter .). There is also a Secret Message Service pure clone , who shamelessly copied all the project. Let's say that copy is the utmost form of flattery .

What's new with S.M.S, is that you don't need to have a iPhone or a Twitter. Everybody can share their secrets.

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Why this number : +336 1957 1992 ? ^

Because it's easy to memorize. For the records, I told my friend that 1957 was for the treaty of Rome and 1992 for the Maastricht treaty.

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Some secrets look like fakes... ^
It's part of "the game" . When you launch a project requesting user's contribution, it is not safe from a exaggerated or a fantasized testimony. But if I become mistrustful, it's the beginning of a constant interrogation. I chose to trust people who confide in me, it's as simple as that.

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Why do I often read the word "bip"? ^
This expression was born on a blog post, shortly before S.M.S birth. I asked people who felt "lonely in the middle of the crowd" during the festive season to write a little « bip » in their comment. The expression remained, a little signal, a mix of distress and solidarity.

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I can't find the number of vote in the tops. ^
Filters (Top, Random ...) have to be considered as a new way to discover the website. I don't want to build a hierarchy of "best" secrets. The first utility of the little hearts below pictures is for registered users to fav the secret, and for visitors to feed these filters.

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S.M.S was born on your blog, why have you created a devoted website? ^
Truth is, from the start, S.M.S was designed to have its own website. The massive amount of visitors each Volume brought confirmed this evolution. I didn't want my blog to be "eaten" by a project, as a lot of S.M.S visitors weren't interested in my life.



So S.M.S grew up on my blog with almost 1,000 secrets, giving me time to sharpen my choices, collecting feedback from my very active reader community, and designing a pertinent website.

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Isn't there an S.M.S blog ? ^
Not on this site. I want Secret Message Service to be a secret-picture only website. However, advances and modifications on the website will be announced on my blog.

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Who is the owner of these bitten fingernails ? ^
They are mine, and I like them the way they are :)

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Have you got some projects left ? ^
There is a great potential for an exhibition, or a book, but I haven't planned anything yet.

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I love the website, who did it ? ^
Two really kind person helped me designing the website :
- Raphaël did the code
- Famous Theoze from Colorz did the graphic standards

Plus :
- My company Infuse which hosts the all thing
- And my blog reader's who posted ideas, critics and suggestions during the test stage.

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I've got a question for you, a suggestion to submit, some help to offer... ^
With pleasure: hello@secretmessageservice.com ;)