questions posts

Filed under: Productivity, Web services, Social Software

Aardvark's question-and-answer service gets a web interface

by Jay Hathaway Oct 14th 2009

Aardvark is a service that using social networking to answer your questions. I've been using it for a while, and it definitely works when you need to find an answer, but using it over IM is a bit annoying. If you're signed up to answer questions, you'll frequently get IMs asking you about things you may or may not know anything about. That's why it's great that Aardvark now has a web interface at vark.com.

You can still use the IM service on top of the web version, but I just went ahead and turned it off. The threaded replies on the web are a lot easier to follow than an IM window full of multiple responses to a question, and the website is quite well-designed. To make getting started with Aardvark a little bit easier, you can sign in with Facebook Connect, and Aardvark gives you the option of using your Facebook interests as areas of expertise to target the questions you're asked.

Tags: aardvark, answers, questions, vark

Filed under: Productivity, Social Software, iPhone, web 2.0

Aardvark iPhone app answers questions on the go

by Jay Hathaway Sep 15th 2009

Aardvark, a service that uses social networking to find answers to your questions, now has an iPhone app. Aardvark starts with Facebook Connect, finds your friends who are using it, and then branches out into friends of friends and the whole network of Aardvark users. You can ask questions and receive answers via IM or the web. The iPhone version is extra-useful, because questions don't always come up when you conveniently happen to be in front of a computer.

You can use the Aardvark iPhone to both ask and answer questions, and select categories to help connect you with the right people. Aardvark claims that most questions are answered in under 5 minutes, after asking 6 people and getting 2 responses. I tested it by asking for a recommendation about banks in Seattle, and I got a useful response after about 15 minutes. GigaOM had better luck asking about cabs in San Francisco, getting an answer in less than 5.

[via GigaOM]

Tags: aardvark, answers, facebook, questions, social networking, SocialNetworking

Filed under: Internet, Web services, Search, web 2.0

MiaMia : Ask Anything, Get Email or SMS Answers. Sometimes.

by Lee Mathews Aug 30th 2008

No, I didn't edit that image, that's actually the first question that pops up on MyMiaMia's flash intro banner. While I'm not certain it's a reference I would make when trying to flog my awesome new web app, it did make me stick around and try it out.

It's a slick concept. Visit the website and type in your query, get an answer sent to your email or cell phone via SMS. Your answers will probably arrive with a short, ceontextual ad at the end (at some point - right now it's just a placeholder).

I figured their example of a dictionary word was child's play, so I threw them a curve: Who played Ash in Army of Darkness? To my amazement, here was the reply: "Bruce Lorne Campbell an American actor, producer, writer and director, best known for his starring role as Ash in the Evil Dead trilogy of horror/slapstick movies."

Tags: answers, questions, search, web 2.0, Web2.0

Filed under: Fun, Photo, web 2.0

Picanswers - Ask questions with photos

by Romeo Wahed Feb 27th 2008

PicAnswers is a site to help you find answers to questions that are difficult to explain without some visual aids. Which, seriously, is genius. Like anything else Web 2.0, it is community based, with the community as a whole doing both the asking and the answering.

Let's say you've had a painting (or picture of a painting) you've had hang on your wall ever since you were a kid and you suddenly wanted to know who the artist was or what the story behind that painting is. Take a photo, upload it, ask your question, and wait for responses. The community is still growing, so don't expect an avalanche of comments at once, but it looks like PicAnswers is picking up momentum and people are getting their questions answered.

Even if you have no particular question of your own, checking out some of the things that other people are pondering about is fun. It's almost like show and tell - except that it's more like show and ask. Sate your curiosity, ask some questions, share some knowledge, and learn a thing or two.

[via gHacks]

Tags: answers, fun, photos, picanswers, questions

Filed under: Fun, Internet

Hoosgot - The return of LazyWeb (in spirit)

by Romeo Wahed Dec 31st 2007

Hoosgot is a little project by the guy that started Tenchorati, David Sifry, who found himself with too much holiday time on his hands as he was reminiscing about the good old days of the LazyWeb. So he decided to put that time to good use and create a site to revive the old spirit as well as make it work with Twitter.

It functions like this: you make a Twitter tweet or blog post with either @hoosgot or hoosgot in it, respectively, with a question that you would like answered. Hoosgot will then scoop up your tweet/post and throw it up for the world to see. And, if the world is feeling generous that day, you may get an answer or some replies to your question by other people who are paying attention to Hoosgot.

This means that the juice that is supposed to fuel this operation is the concept of sharing and giving, which there's arguably enough of that this might work. However, there is a lingering sensation that suggests that this is kind of what Twitter and a few other sites do already, without the picture of outer space.

[via Mashable]

Tags: answers, hoosgot, lazyweb, questions, twitter

Filed under: Internet, Utilities, Features, E-mail, Web services, DLS Interviews, Beta

CircleUp answers your questions - DLS interview

by Brad Linder Jul 13th 2007

If you need to find out what your spouse wants for dinner, a quick phone call or email will suffice. But if you need to know what's the best place to hold a campaign rally in a city you've never been to, you might want to ask a few hundred or thousand people on your mailing list. But managing the results could be a full time job.

That's where CircleUp comes in. CircleUp provides the tools to ask a large group of people a question over email or instant messenger, and to manage the answers in an easy to digest way. We caught up with CircleUp chief marketing officer Tom Kuhr at the Digital Life press preview last night, and he explained how it works.

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CircleUp is currently in public beta, with a final release expected sometime this fall. It's a free service, that will be supported by advertising.

Tags: circleup, digital life, DigitalLife, questions, surveys

Filed under: Design, Developer, Fun, Internet, Blogging, Web services

Poll the world with PollMappr

by Chris Gilmer Jul 10th 2007

Are you dying to know some answers to a brewing question you have? Get the answers out with PollMappr.

There are plenty of online poll generation tools that demand a fee for usage, and a few free ones that tend to stray on the dull side. PollMappr lets users put polls on their blogs, websites or social network. The fun doesn't stop there however, PollMappr maps where on earth the answers are coming from. Upon viewing the poll results, users and poll generators can click and be taken on a trip through Google Earth to see where people came from.

So not only do you get your questions answered in a few simple steps, you can study the pinpointed locations and get a better understanding of your polls respondents.

Gallery: PollMappr

Tags: answers, earth, google, map, poll, pollmappr, questions

Filed under: Fun, Internet, Web services, Social Software

Live questions and answers with Fluther

by Chris Gilmer Jun 28th 2007

We sometimes like the comfort of getting an answer from a real individual rather than just searching for it in our favorite search engine, and Fluther understands that.

Ask a question to Fluther, and they will route it to the appropriate people. With their online service users simply ask a question, that question is sent out to get an answer from people that can help. Not only that, but if you have a specialty that you can help other users with, you can share your knowledge with others.

Sounds like a great idea, especially if questions can be discussed in real time with other members.

Tags: answers, fluther, live, questions

Filed under: Web services, Microsoft, Social Software

Windows Live QnA: Answers care of Microsoft

by Jordan Running Aug 29th 2006

Microsoft has launched Windows Live QnA, an ask-a-question-get-an-answer site in the style of Yahoo! Answers and Google Answers. The site, currently in beta, relies on a reputation system whereby good answers (as determined by the question's original poster) increase your "score." It's got plenty of Web 2.0 trappings, including tags and integration with Windows Live Messenger (in the form of your Messenger contacts being highlighted), and there's a "Superstars" page that shows which users currently have the highest score. Microsoft Program Manager Betsy Aoki describes some of Windows Live QnA's more interesting features and gives some tips on how to garner the best results on the service's official blog.

Tags: answers, googleanswers, microsoft, qna, questions, social, windowslive, windowsliveqna, yahooanswers

Filed under: Fun, Internet, Blogging, Web services, P2P, Social Software

Just the Faqqlys please

by Chris Gilmer Aug 12th 2006

Faqqly is an online social network community where friends are brought together to trade questions and answers, give and get help, and ideas, and share. It's like MySpace without the crazy inundation of ads, and a little more personal, creating a more authentic service. Faqqlys main goal is to be a sharing community. Not so me-centered like other social networks. Its layout and interface are very simplistic and it's really easy to understand what's going on and how to navigate. The team at Faqqly have also put together a nice little tour so you can understand more about the tool, and how you can sign up and use it in your everyday life.

Tags: community, faq, faqqly, myspace, network, questions, social network, SocialNetwork

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