Do a small favor for a stranger: Ask.io is Philly dev’s new web project

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.