<s>
Figment	B-Protocol
was	O
an	O
online	B-Architecture
community	I-Architecture
and	O
self-publishing	O
platform	O
for	O
young	O
writers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
time	O
of	O
its	O
closure	O
,	O
Figment	B-Protocol
had	O
over	O
300,000	O
registered	O
users	O
and	O
over	O
440,000	O
'	O
books	O
 '	O
,	O
or	O
pieces	O
of	O
writing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
features	O
included	O
frequent	O
writing	O
contests	O
,	O
a	O
blog	O
,	O
forums	O
,	O
and	O
The	O
Figment	B-Protocol
Review	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
February	O
27	O
,	O
2012	O
,	O
Figment	B-Protocol
announced	O
it	O
would	O
purchase	O
and	O
merge	O
user	O
bases	O
with	O
its	O
rival	O
site	O
,	O
Inkpop.com	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
October	O
29	O
,	O
2013	O
,	O
Figment	B-Protocol
was	O
acquired	O
by	O
Random	O
House	O
Children	O
's	O
Group	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
stories	O
on	O
Figment	B-Protocol
were	O
deleted	O
during	O
the	O
shutdown	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
story	O
creation	O
tool	O
will	O
be	O
added	O
to	O
Underlined	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
transition	O
from	O
Figment	B-Protocol
to	O
Underlined	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Inspired	O
by	O
the	O
popularity	O
of	O
the	O
Japanese	O
cell	O
phone	O
novel	O
,	O
Dana	O
Goodyear	O
,	O
poet	O
and	O
journalist	O
,	O
and	O
Jacob	O
Lewis	O
,	O
former	O
managing	O
editor	O
of	O
The	O
New	O
Yorker	O
,	O
created	O
Figment	B-Protocol
as	O
a	O
platform	O
on	O
which	O
young	O
adults	O
can	O
share	O
their	O
writing	O
and	O
interact	O
with	O
other	O
writers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Figment	B-Protocol
spent	O
several	O
months	O
in	O
beta	O
,	O
and	O
officially	O
launched	O
on	O
December	O
6	O
,	O
2010	O
,	O
gaining	O
over	O
10,000	O
users	O
the	O
first	O
week	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Figment	B-Protocol
's	O
user	O
base	O
is	O
mainly	O
teens	O
,	O
but	O
there	O
is	O
a	O
significant	O
amount	O
of	O
older	O
writers	O
registered	O
on	O
the	O
site	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Figment	B-Protocol
has	O
been	O
featured	O
in	O
The	O
New	O
York	O
Times	O
,	O
The	O
L.A.	O
Times	O
,	O
and	O
The	O
Today	O
Show	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
December	O
2011	O
,	O
Figment	B-Protocol
published	O
its	O
first	O
print	O
book	O
:	O
Dream	O
School	O
by	O
Blake	O
Nelson	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Figment	B-Protocol
first	O
released	O
Dream	O
School	O
in	O
serial	O
format	O
on	O
its	O
web	O
site	O
as	O
free	O
content	O
for	O
all	O
users	O
,	O
and	O
then	O
printed	O
the	O
book	O
in	O
a	O
more	O
traditional	O
format	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
March	O
2012	O
,	O
Figment	B-Protocol
combined	O
with	O
HarperCollins	O
's	O
online	O
writing	O
community	O
,	O
Inkpop	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
time	O
of	O
the	O
merge	O
,	O
InkPop	O
had	O
95,000	O
users	O
and	O
Figment	B-Protocol
had	O
115,000	O
users	O
,	O
with	O
little	O
overlap	O
between	O
the	O
two	O
sites	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Susan	O
Katz	O
,	O
the	O
HarperCollins	O
Children	O
's	O
Book	O
president	O
,	O
said	O
of	O
the	O
move	O
:	O
“	O
We	O
approached	O
Figment	B-Protocol
because	O
we	O
’ve	O
admired	O
what	O
they	O
are	O
doing	O
in	O
the	O
digital	O
space	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Figment	B-Protocol
occasionally	O
offered	O
writing	O
contests	O
to	O
help	O
writers	O
hone	O
their	O
skills	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
were	O
generally	O
three	O
types	O
of	O
contests	O
on	O
Figment	B-Protocol
:	O
Random	O
selection	O
,	O
heart	O
based	O
,	O
and	O
contests	O
in	O
which	O
all	O
entries	O
are	O
read	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Seventeen	O
Magazine	O
hosted	O
its	O
2011	O
fiction	O
contest	O
on	O
Figment	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
50	O
of	O
the	O
60	O
finalists	O
were	O
chosen	O
via	O
Figment	B-Protocol
user	O
votes	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
other	O
10	O
were	O
picked	O
by	O
Seventeen	O
editors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
in	O
high	O
school	O
or	O
college	O
were	O
challenged	O
to	O
write	O
a	O
600-character	O
story	O
about	O
their	O
coming-of-age	O
moment	O
and	O
to	O
submit	O
to	O
it	O
the	O
Figment	B-Protocol
page	O
at	O
Zinch.com	O
for	O
a	O
chance	O
to	O
win	O
a	O
$500	O
scholarship	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Figment	B-Protocol
users	O
between	O
the	O
ages	O
of	O
13	O
and	O
21	O
living	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
wrote	O
short	O
stories	O
of	O
1,500	O
words	O
or	O
less	O
using	O
the	O
prompt	O
"	O
Write	O
a	O
story	O
where	O
love	O
is	O
dangerous	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Figment	B-Protocol
was	O
chosen	O
as	O
a	O
winning	O
start-up	O
company	O
at	O
the	O
O'Reilly	O
Tools	O
of	O
Change	O
for	O
Publishing	O
Conference	O
2011	O
and	O
was	O
also	O
selected	O
as	O
a	O
15th	O
Annual	O
Webby	O
Awards	O
Official	O
Honoree	O
in	O
the	O
"	O
Youth	O
"	O
category	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
February	O
25	O
,	O
2012	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
announced	O
that	O
Figment	B-Protocol
would	O
be	O
receiving	O
the	O
2011	O
Los	O
Angeles	O
Times	O
Innovator	O
's	O
Award	O
,	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
Los	O
Angeles	O
Times	O
Book	O
Prize	O
.	O
</s>
