In recent years, the Internet has created a space for the freedom of expression through its varying websites. Two of these websites, the Race Card Project and PostSecret, thrive as a space for individuals to express what is usually frowned upon.
Despite being created six years apart, the Race Card Project and PostSecret have similar beginnings. The creators of the websites, Michele Norris and Frank Warren respectively, handed out postcards and asked people to mail them back. Norris asked her group to condense their experiences of race into six words, and Warren asked his group to write down their deepest secrets. Both creators received hundreds of postcards in return and subsequently created their websites as a way of displaying these cards, changing the world’s perspective of expression. Although similar on a surface-level, I believe that the individual features of the Race Card Project and PostSecret create a very different space for expression.
One of the key differences between the websites today is anonymity. The Race Card Project now accepts submissions online. Despite still providing the chance for users to be anonymous, most opt out of it. Many submit their names and locations, and some even include photos of themselves. On the other hand, all of the secrets sent into PostSecret are by mail on a postcard, and names are never included. This slight difference results in contrasting submissions. Submitters to PostSecret are more likely to share negative aspects of themselves, and in extreme cases, even crimes they’ve committed. For example, CNN reports that in 2013, a confession on PostSecret claimed to have dumped a body in a park. On the Race Card Project, this type of submission is unheard of. Most users share the hurt they’ve felt regarding race rather than the acts of racism they might have committed.
Another major difference is the limitations of the Race Card Project compared to the freedom in artistic expression PostSecret offers. The Race Card Project condenses a person’s experience of race into six words. It is family-friendly and states in its terms of use, “You may not post violent, nude, partially nude, discriminatory, unlawful, infringing, hateful, pornographic or sexually suggestive photos or other content via this service.” On the contrary, many of the descriptions of this forbidden content apply to the submissions on PostSecret. Also, PostSecret encourages individuals to decorate their postcards and to write as much as they choose to. This difference in limitations creates submissions that look nothing alike. On the Race Card Project, submissions are merely textual, and with a quick skim, one looks the same as the rest. On PostSecret, however, each confession is noticeably personalized.
My comparative analysis of the Race Card Project and PostSecret has made me realize that one platform is not necessarily better than the other. Each platform creates a distinct space for expression. The Race Card Project creates a safe place for expression but PostSecret creates the rawest forms of expression. Each platform is needed in our world and allows individuals to share what previously hasn’t been shared.
Works Cited
Falcon, Gabe. “It’s creepy and cryptic, but is PostSecret murder confession real?” CNN, www.cnn.com/2013/09/02/us/postsecret-police-search/index.html. Accessed 6 March 2018.
“Freedom of Expression on the Internet.” UNESCO, www.en.unesco.org/themes/freedom-expression-internet. Accessed 6 March 2018.
Norris, Michele. The Race Card Project. www.theracecardproject.com. Accessed 6 March 2018.
“Terms of Use.” The Race Card Project, www.theracecardproject.com/about-the-race-card-project/terms-of-use/. Accessed 6 March 2018.
Warren, Frank. PostSecret. www.postsecret.com. Accessed 6 March 2018.