This will be a running post, updated July 17, 2007.
"The question-and-answer site Yahoo Answers is one of the most successful social interaction communities on the Web today. With 65 million questions posted on the site, it has become a social interacting phenomenon very much like YouTube or MySpace. According to ComScore, Yahoo Answers is now the second most popular Internet reference site after Wikipedia..." continue reading: How to Use Yahoo Answers to Promote Your Business @ PowerHomeBiz.com by By Isabel M. Isidro
Google Says Goodbye to Google Answers
Danny Sullivan reports that after more than four years Google Answers is shutting down. The service first launched in April 2002 with lots of attention from the library and information community. Since then both Yahoo (Yahoo Answers) and MSN (Windows Live QnA) have released Q&A services. Full story @ Gary Price's ResourceShelf
Yahoo Answers is Worth a Try
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
There have been lots of Web based Q&A services that promise custom answers from actual humans, ranging from fee-based ones like Google Answers (that works on an auction model) to the defunct FIND/SVP's "Ask an Expert" site, to various free services like Wondir.com and the various individual locality "ask a librarian" services, to of course your own public reference library. (As Gary Price noted here)Continue reading Intelligent Agent Blog
Yahoo has answers for Stephen Hawking and Bono, Posted by Dan Farber, @ ZDNet> Between the Lines July 7, 2006
Yahoo is turning to big names to pose large-grained questions on Yahoo Answers. Dr. Stephen Hawking poses the question: How can the human race survive the next hundred years?" Bono asks, "What can we do to make poverty history?. Between the two, there are over 34,000 responses so far. A good way to generate usage among the Yahoo community and discuss important topics, but not easy to sort through the answers unless you have alot of time to scan thousands of replies… continue reading Yahoo has answers
As a sociologist I find the concept of Google Answers far more fascinating than its content. I am reminded of game theory. The researchers seem to be behaving as though they are in competition with each other for prizes, and the prize, as usual in academic settings no less than in business, seems to be recognition. [source: Comments at Google Answers]
Interesting trend and reviews:
Yahoo answers is free, and this may offer another way to visualize the "open source" revolution. Does it sound so? With the opinions and impressions of the netizens, is this to become another eMarketing research tool?
Read and experience for yourself.
Yahoo Answers Will Kick Google Answers in the Seat of the Pants, What's Yahoo Answers? Glad you asked. December 8, 2005
The Birth of Yahoo Answers, Posted by Gary Price on Dec. 7, 2005
Why should I use Yahoo.Answers? How dependable is this source? Jan 25, 2006 at 10:54 am
Final Thoughts from Gary Price:
One day or even one month test to judge the popularity and usefulness of Yahoo Answers is not enough. It will take some time.
Like I said about the launch of Google Base the other week, I think it will be very illuminating to take a look at Yahoo Answers in a few months to see how the community has developed and also functioning on policing itself to remove spam, bad info, etc. Yahoo will need to be very vigilant to monitor:
Spam
Scams
Uses as a marketing tool (working in plugs for various products into answers).
Infomercials of a different sort.
Members who consistently cause problems
In other words, can the Yahoo Answers community of users police themselves or will Yahoo have to step in and be aggressive in their policing? Will Yahoo Answers simply be the next generation of an online bulletin board and online groups like Yahoo Groups which, unfortunately, deliver plenty of spam.
Also remember that no "answer" tool is perfect for every question. Different answer tools have their strengths and weaknesses. It's about using the correct one at the correct time. Sometimes a friend or colleague can provide you with the answers you need while sometimes you need someone to help you direct you to the correct tool to get the job done in a timely manner. Authority, currency, and related metrics still count!
Looking for some alternatives to consider? See my Other Q&A Services, Most Available For Free! post that's now up as a companion to this article, covering some other online Q&A services.
Postscript: If you're interested in taking the official Yahoo Answers product tour, here it is. Also, Yahoo has added a Yahoo Answers tab to the upper right corner of their clutter-free search.yahoo.com interface.
---------
Recent Analytics:
...1/23/2006. Yahoo Answers & Yahoo Publisher Network To Pay Users?
Let’s see, the future of Yahoo is Social Media. Social Media is interactive user generated content such as tagging, blogs, MyWeb, user reviews, photo sharing, ratings, and perhaps even user generated mashups (I’m thinking that Ning is an obvious acquisition target) and, oh yes, Yahoo Answers.
Using the same mentality as my Grandfather ("Hey, go wash my boat and I’ll give you $5.” Or “Here’s $5 kid, now scram."), Yahoo will be offering their registered members the ability to join the Yahoo Publisher Network and perhaps earn revenue towards the contextually targeted Yahoo Search Marketing ads which are shown on the Answers that those members contribute. Jen Slegg scooped the story today on her JenSense Blog (Best Contextual Advertising & Search Marketing Blog of 2005)
...Yahoo Misses Targets, Analysts Struggle for Answers, By Keith Regan
E-Commerce Times, 01/18/06 10:16 AM PT
There is little agreement among analysts on the impact of Yahoo's results on Google. Some raised their ratings on Google, assuming that it stole market share and revenue from Yahoo and stands to gain even more now that its partnership with America Online is in place.
...Yahoo Answers. Technologies of Cooperation, Posted by Mike Love, January 11, 2006 at 10:22 AM
(~~~~);See Also: yahoo versus google
a simple visualization that compares the order of the search results from yahoo & google.
No comments:
Post a Comment