Frank Warren hears the secrets that you keep

PostSecret began as an experimental art project in 2004 when Warren handed out blank postcards  and asked people to anonymously share their secrets with him. What started as a pet project turned into a blog read by more than 120 million people around the world.

Warren visits UMBC on Tuesday to discuss — what else? — secrets.

What have you learned from PostSecret?

It’s allowed me to feel a greater sense of empathy toward people, and have an awareness of the very human stories just beneath the surface, that demonstrate the frailty and honesty of the human spirit.

What’s different about a college audience?

Young people are so alive and vital, and are often searching for what’s authentic. They are good judges of what’s fake and phony, and PostSecret is all about going beneath the surface and peering into that dark human typography that we all know and recognize but people don’t talk about. Young people today are so courageous about what they are willing to share about themselves.

In today’s society it wouldn’t be surprising if you tried to capitalize off of your fame. Yet you stay grounded. How do you maintain that?

I’m a believer in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs; when you satisfy one set of needs, you’re open to a new set. I feel like I satisfied my financial needs, and there were a new set of needs that involved being able to express my creativity, and feel as though what I do day-to-day has meaning. That runs in parallel with the Web site — I’ve never posted ads. That’s one of the reasons why the project has grown and developed. I’ve earned the trust of strangers and without that, there would be no PostSecret.

You’ve been called “The Most Trusted Stranger in the World.” Do you ever feel overwhelmed?

I try not to think about it too much. It is a little overwhelming, there’s no committee of people helping me. I think it could feel burdensome, but it doesn’t now. Now it feels like a great privilege.

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