Sorry for the crosspostings. I hadn't heard of this before, and think
it really warrants our noticing it. An "international reference desk
(for a fee)?" Liz
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Google's Newest Technology: People Answering your Questions
Date: Mon, 22 Apr 2002 13:17:37 EST
From: "fay" <rmfay@libris.libs.uga.edu>
Organization: University of Georgia Libraries
To: "UGA Libraries Grapevine" <grapevine@libris.libs.uga.edu>
------- Forwarded message follows -------
SearchDay April 22, 2002 - Number 251
Google's Newest Technology: People Answering your Questions
Google has introduced a beta program that allows users to post
questions that will be personally answered by a professional
researcher -- for a fee.
By Chris Sherman
Associate Editor, Search Engine Watch
http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/
Copyright (c) 2002 INT Media Group, Inc.
+ Google's Newest Technology: People Answering your Questions
Google has quietly introduced a beta program that allows users to
post questions that will be personally answered by a professional
researcher --for a fee. The service, called Google Answers,
is a decided departure from Google's high-tech, highly
automated approach to websearch. It's also built on a model
that has had mixed success in the past, and that faces direct
no-cost competition from numerous public libraries around the
world offering similar online "aska" services.
To use the service, you need to first register for an account,
providing a few personal details and credit card information for
billing.
Registration is free. Once you sign up, you can sign in at any time to
see your account status page. This page shows all of the questions
you've posted, their status (open, needs attention, or closed), the
date
and time of the most recent update, the name of the professional who
handled the question, and the price you set for an answer.
Posting a question is simple -- just enter your question, select the
maximum amount of time you're willing to wait for an answer (one week,
one
month, or one year), and enter the amount you're willing to pay for an
answer (from $4 to $50). "The more research it takes, the more user
should be willing to pay," said Google spokesperson Eileen Rodriguez.
Once you've entered a question, it is posted immediately. There is a
$.50
cent non-refundable listing fee, but you are not charged the answer fee
until a Google researcher posts an answer. The fee is fully refundable
if
you're not satisfied with the answer, according to Rodriguez.
Google has instituted a rating system that it hopes to use for
quality-control feedback on the performance of researchers.
Once a question has been answered, the user is asked to rate
the quality of the response, from one to five stars.
All Google users are free to browse current questions and answers.
The list of questions currently being asked displays the title
of each question and the date it was asked, who asked it and
how much they offered for an answer. If the question has already
been answered, you'll see the name of the researcher who
answered it and the star rating from the user who asked the question.
In an interesting twist, Google is allowing all users to comment on
answers or questions that are posted -- at no charge. This means
that before posting a question, you can scan through previously
posted questions and answers to see if your question has already
been answered. You can even cancel a pending question if your
question is answered by a Google user before a professional
researcher has had a chance to get to it.
Who are the research professionals responsible for answering the
questions? According to Rodriguez, they're Google contract employees,
carefully selected for their research skills. "Researchers go through
an intensive interview process," she said, adding that over the long
term
the company hopes to have researchers recruited from the web.
If you're interested applying to be a research professional for Google
Answers,
there's an online application form. Why is Google, known for its
high-tech,
highly automated approach to web search, introducing this decidedly
low-tech, human intensive service?
"There are a lot of people looking for information on the web but don't
have the time to find the information," said Cindy McCaffrey, Google's
Vice President, Corporate Marketing. "This program takes the burden of
time away." McCaffrey also said the program should appeal to people
who
don't understand how to search, and would prefer to delegate the
process
to a professional.
McCaffrey stressed that the program was in its very early beta stages,
and
likely to change and evolve quickly as Google had a chance to evaluate
its
effectiveness and incorporate suggestions from users.
Google Answers
http://answers.google.com
Google Answers: Frequently Asked Questions
https://answers.google.com/answers/faq.html
------- End of forwarded message -------
Robin Fay
Head, Database Maintenance
Univ. of Georgia Libraries
rmfay@libris.libs.uga.edu
fay@uga.edu
www.arches.uga.edu/~fay/
www.robinart.com
706.542.0590
fax:706.542.4144
_,.-:*'``'*:-.,_,.-:*'``'*:-
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Mon Apr 22 2002 - 10:24:47 PDT