Apr 21, 2011

Battle of the Q&As

[caption id="attachment_393" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Battle of the Q&As"]

[/caption] Many people are wondering what will become of Quora now that Facebook Questions has arrived. We, on the other hand, see distinguishing differences between the two that contribute to their sustainability. Quora is one of the newest Q&A websites. This database allows users to ask questions and gain feedback from people in the business. It is continually improving and collecting answers that are created, edited, and organized by the people using the site. Answers are rated to ensure that the best are listed first and, therefore, are viewed by the most people searching for those specific topics. Some may worry about the effectiveness and credibility of this site, because it seems like a basic Q&A such as Yahoo! Answers or WikiAnswers. As a way to help control quality, Quora gives its community members the ability to edit most areas of the site. Along with this, each answer is connected to a person. That person has a photo and a short bio to further explain her expertise or credibility on that particular subject. Inverse-blogging tactics are used on Quora as well. Readers can track topics of interest, and the system will show them questions related to their choices. Readers can also follow individual questions, thus becoming a waiting audience for whoever answers the questions. This site is also great for incorporating different points of view for use in creating content, such as unbiased blog posts. Facebook Questions is a Q&A application that allows you to ask questions to your Facebook friends or followers, and it allows you to get quick answers. However, answers are usually limited to a few choices or another option whereas in Quora, answers can be as short or as long as the writer likes. Facebook Questions are visible to everyone on Facebook who may receive the questions in his news feed. Users who post Facebook Questions but who adjusted their original privacy settings can make it so not everyone can comment on the questions, though everyone could see the questions. With Quora, questions can be responded to by anyone in the community who is looking for that topic. Facebook definitely has the advantage when it comes to visibility of the questions, however, with its larger number of community members. Anything you ask through Facebook Questions is shared on your profile and in your friends’ feeds. If a friend comments on your question, she gets a post on her page that will also show up in her friends’ feeds. With this option, it’s easy to see how the Facebook Questions application is shareable and viral. What do you think? Which one will you use more? Comment below.