One of the birthday cards that a stranger sent to Mike Carson's wife after he asked for the favor on Ask.io

More than 100 people from all over the world sent birthday cards to Kristen Carson late week.

It started with a simple request on Ask.io, a new side project from Mike Carson, who posted the first “ask”:

My wife is not well and was recently hospitalized, but her birthday is coming up. I think it would make her happy to receive a lot of birthday cards. Could you please send her a birthday card?

Carson, 37, launched Ask.io, a site that posts a weekly request for a small favor, because he wanted to show that little things can make a difference. The Chief Technology Officer at Conshohocken startup WizeHive, Carson lives in Fairmount.