@ask_fm and Safer Internet Day 2015 - How Ask.fm is tackling Cyberbullying as Q&A Social Network is the next @Snapchat

“This is Ask.fm's first Safer Internet Day under new leadership, and our goal is not only to contribute to the dialogue in a meaningful way, but to use it as a stepping stone for inviting our user community to participate in our vision – that Ask.fm is a place for fruitful exploration, not bullies. We realize getting there will take time, and each day we are wholly focused on the hard work of making Ask.fm a safer and more positive place. The #nobullies campaign extends this commitment by allowing people everywhere to engage in our evolution and the broader conversation”

Head of Safety and Trust at Ask.fm Catherine Teitelbaum, commenting on Ask.fm sponsorship of Safer Internet Day 2015 on Tuesday February 10^th 2015,

A lot has happened in a Year for the controversial Q&A Social Network, Ask.fm.

On Tuesday February 10th 2015, Ask.fm became the sponsor for Safer Internet Day 2015, a day on which users of the Internet reflect on how they can change their behaviour to make the Internet safer for all users as noted in the article “Ask.fm Named as Official Sponsor of Safer Internet Day 2015”, published by Feb. 4, 2015, PR Newswire.

The observance of the day under the theme “Safer Internet Day 2015: Actions and Activism Toward a Better Net and World”, is being led by ConnectSafely, a lead researcher that does outreach and research to help Internet Users protect their identity and avoid being bullied and robbed on the information superhighway.

The day was hosted at Facebook's Silicon Valley campus. So think of a wine and cheesy affair with lots of Silicon Valley bigwigs in panel discussions with youth leaders, educators, policy makers, parents and peers from all around the Tech scene telling you what not to do online and the dangers of Social Media.

Ask.fm Chief Trust and Safety Officer, Catherine Teitelbaum actually participated in a panel discussion entitled “Beyond Bullying: Dealing with Trolling and Social Cruelty” to show their commitment to safety online.

As a part of this initiative they launched a StopBullying.US website as well as launched a #nobullies Social Media campaign for participants in Safer Internet Day 2015 to post comments affirming their stance against cyberbullying. As hashtags are now universal on almost all Social Media Websites, this is applicable not only on Ask.fm but on all Social Media websites.

But is Ask.fm themselves an example of a company associated with safer use of the Internet? based on my first blog article on Ask.fm entitled “Ask.fm, the new Q&A Social Network popular among Millennials and Tweens is connected to Teen suicides - You Don’t have to answer every question as your Ask.fm friends are not you Drinking Buddies” that cited the problems that the anonymous Q&A Social Network, Ask.fm were having, their problems were no different from those of Snapchat.

But they've made progress as I’ll explain below.

Ask.fm and Safer Internet Day 2015 - How Ask,fm is cracking down on bullying on their Social Network

Started in 2010 by two (2) Latvian brothers, Ilja and Mark Terebin, Ask.fm is where users make posts and get asked questions by anonymous posters, with comments being registered as either being mild or very abusive.

As of August 2014 it had some impressive stats:

1.      180 million monthly users

2.      700 posts each second

3.      65 million users under the age of 18 years old

With those stats, they're 75% the size of Twitter's Active monthly users stats of 284 Million Active and 50% of Instagram’s 300 million Monthly active users as noted in my entitled y blog article entitled “Instagram's 300 Million Active Monthly Users – Teenagers and Millennials Selfie Trend boosts Facebook's Advertising Revenue while Chasing Pinterest and Tumblr”.

Smelling another Snapchat on the Horizon, Ask.fm was purchased by Ask.com Founder Doug Leeds for an undisclosed sum of money back in August 2014, which the Latvian Brother took and left the company as noted in the article “Ask.fm bought by Ask.com and Tinder owner”, published 14 August 2014  By Joe Miller, BBC News.

The sale of the company appears to have been engineered by IAC (InterActiveCorp), a US company said to be funneling millions of dollars into the company in a bid to stamp out bullying. IAC has the balls to say this, as they are huge in a very quiet way, owners of several other online Brand:

1.      About.com

2.      CollegeHumor

3.      Dictionary.com

4.      Investopedia

5.      Match

6.      OkCupid

7.      The Daily Beast

8.      Tinder

9.      Urbanspoon

10.  Vimeo

This safety revamp will see Ask.fm dealing with user complaints about cyberbullying with 24 hours and removal of users who are the subject of multiple complaints.

To quote New York State Attorney General, Eric Schneiderman, Ask.fm New Management is under surveillance by his office for the next three (3) years, quote: “Under the terms of the agreement, Ask.fm will revamp its safety policies and procedures. An independent safety and security examiner will be appointed to examine the changes and report on compliance to the Attorney General's Office for three years”.

Hannah Smith Suicide - How association with a Case of Suicide sank Ask.com

The negative association with cyberbullying began when 14-year-old Hannah Smith took her own life in August 2013 after apparently receiving vile post on Ask.fm from other users as noted in the article “Hannah Smith suicide: David Cameron writes letter to grieving dad promising action against trolls”, published 15 August 2013, By Andy Rudd, The UK Mirror.

She was discovered hanging by a rope by her older sister Jo Smith hanging in her room on Friday August 2^nd 2013, one day after my Birthday on Thursday August 1^st 2013, which also happens to be Jamaicans' Emancipation Day.

This stark coincidence is why I had originally done my first blog article on Ask.fm entitled “Ask.fm, the new Q&A Social Network popular among Millennials and Tweens is connected to Teen suicides - You Don’t have to answer every question as your Ask.fm friends are not you Drinking Buddies”, as the coincidence was striking and poignant.

Back then, UK Prime Minister David Cameron had made contact with her father, David Smith and promised action, as from all accounts this appeared to be a case of cyberbullying by trolls on Ask.fm. Good to note here that Ask.com is known as Ask Jeeves in the UK.

But a year later in May 2014 it now appears not to be quite so. Based on investigations by the Leicestershire Police in August 2013, it appeared that she'd posted most of the hateful messages to herself, despite being banned by her father as noted in the article “Hannah Smith suicide: Teenager used Ask.fm in secret after being banned from going on it by worried father”, published 19 August 2013, By Andy Rudd, The UK Mirror.

This as the suicide death of 14-year-old Hannah Smith wasn't attributed to cyberbullying on Ask.fm Q&A. Rather, before she'd been bullied directly at her school over her eczema, a rash-like skin conditions that leaves the sufferer with ashy, discolored skin as noted in the article “Hannah Smith wrote 'vile' posts to herself before suicide, say police” published Tuesday 6 May 2014 22.40 BST by Caroline Davies, UK Guardian.

Ask.fm is connected to this incident of suicide in a negative way despite evidence on her laptop that suggested that she’d posted most of the abusive messages to herself on Ask.fm. This apparently reflecting the degree to which she began to dislike her physical appearances based on the bullying that she received at school.

She also began posting suicidal notes on Facebook expressing a desire to die, possibly because she began to believe what was being said about her. Being a Teenager is tough indeed, especially if you’re being bullied and no-one believes you!

 But despite all this evidence, the negative association with the Suicide of Hannah smith as well as Leitrim teenager Ciara Pugsley and Donegal teenager Erin Gallagher, who both died in 2012 due to allegedly cyberbullying  through Ask.fm, remained.

Hence, when Ask.com took over Ask.fm, the Latvian founder, who had a laisse-fair style of management were effectively given money in exchange for their website and asked to leave.

Will they be back with another venture? It remains to be seen as despite the problems faced, they're now a hot commodity and their skills are much in demand!

Ask.com takes over Ask.fm - New Management, more Safety and anti-cyberbullying

Ask.fm's involvement in Safer Internet Day 2015 is thus a part of the IAC ongoing commitment to preventing cyberbullying and making a positive brand associating with the Q&A Social Network despite its toxic past.

They've invested in moderation and Filtering technology with a staff of sixty (60) plus persons focused on real-time moderation of posts to enable a response within twenty four (24) hours.

The company even has a Safety advisory board consisting of the World's top thinkers and digital safety experts, with former global head of content standards at Vodafone, Annie Mullins, as the UK and Europe safety lead for Ask.fm as noted in the article “Ask.fm's new owners vow to crack down on bullying or shut the site”, published Tuesday 19 August 2014 11.20 BST by Alex Hern, the UK Guardian.

Unlike the Latvian Brothers, Ilja and Mark Terebin, who were pretty much Data Pirates managing a popular Social Network with little or no oversight, IAC has the financial muscle and contacts to make the necessary changes to comply with the requests of the British as well as American Justice system.

Most recently in November 2014, Ask.fm was relocated to a new Server in Ireland from its old hosting platform in Riga, Latvia as noted in “Ask.fm, The Social Network Linked To Teen Suicides, Is Moving To Ireland”, published NOV. 3, 2014, 5:42 AM by Joshua Barrie, Business Insider and “Ask.fm site to relocate to Ireland from Latvia”, published Monday 03 November 2014 18.56, RTE.

Sponsoring Safer Internet Day 2015 is just a part of the continued evolution of Ask.fm into a more social responsible Q&A Social Network. It's ok to ask questions…....just don't hold it against me and use your anonymity to bully members of the rapidly growing Social Network

Ask.fm is set to take over from Twitter and become the next big thing since Snapchat as noted in my blog article entitled “Global Web Index indicates Snapchat is King - Why Tumblr and Pinterest on the rise as Facebook has higher engagement levels”.

Here’s the link:

Ask.fm website

Ask.fm on Google Play Store

Ask.fm on Apple iTunes App Store