If you have questions -- and who doesn’t -- the website Quora is likely to have answers for you, thanks to submissions from its vast community of users, which the service calls “some of the smartest people in the world.” But what exactly is it and how can you get started using it? Much like the Quora website itself, we’re glad you asked -- and are here to help.
Founded in 2009 by two former Facebook employees (Adam D’Angelo and Charlie Cheever, pictured above), Quora launched out of private beta and into the eyes of an unsuspecting public on June 21, 2010, steadily adding users as it wards off competing sites like Yahoo! Answers and Answers.com. Initially flush with $11 million in funding from Benchmark Capital, Quora’s value has skyrocketed from $86 million in March of last year to more than a billion dollars today -- and has been working hard to remain its private enterprise, reportedly turning down several billion-dollar acquisition offers.
Sounds impressive, but what does the website offer than competing sites don’t? What sets it apart from the competition? And can it really answer all of life’s questions? Let’s find out.
The company’s own website refers to the service as “a continually improving collection of questions and answers created, edited, and organized by everyone who uses it,” a trend made popular by sites such as Wikipedia, who rely on user-generated content to succeed.
“The most important thing is to have each question page become the best possible resource for someone who wants to know about the question,” Quora concludes. Of course, such a service is only as good as the users who contribute to it, which is why the website discourages anonymous logins -- in fact, the service encourages joining up with popular social networking sites you’re already likely a member of.
Upon your first trip to Quora, you’ll be gently nudged to sign up with either a Facebook or Twitter account, both of which help the service pull content that will be relevant to you, based on the interests you choose to follow. (Privacy nuts, fear not -- the site won’t post to these social networks without your permission.)
If you don’t have a Facebook or Twitter account -- or simply prefer to have a standalone login -- there’s a smaller link where you can start your profile with your full name, email and desired password. Regardless of how you join, Quora is free, which includes a just-launched mobile website and iPhone app (more on those in a bit).
Not surprisingly, Quora maintains a comprehensive Help section with official guidelines for using the website. One of the most frequently asked questions is, “How do I get started using Quora?,” which the service is all to happy to answer.
The most important thing to do in the beginning is set up a good feed with your interests. This comes up after signing up as you choose to follow items suggested by your Facebook or Twitter accounts, but don’t worry, if you decide to start wandering around the site and come back later, Quora will remind you again. In any event, your activity feed will then appear each time you visit the home page.
Quora suggests following and searching for topics, people and questions to get started. When you follow a particular topic, any questions and answers tagged with that topic will appear in your feed; the same also applies to people. Likewise, any questions that you choose to follow will be tracked and any new answers that come up in the future will appear in your feed.
As with life itself, Quora recommends that good questions always ask “Why?” and request narrative answers. That means user-submitted questions should seek an explanation, rather than a simple, more direct answer. For example, “Are there any iPhone calendar apps?” would be better phrased as “What are the calendar apps for the iPhone?”
Quora is also best when asking general questions, rather than soliciting opinions from other members. Proper spelling, grammar and punctuation is also a must, and the service frowns on questions that might lead to arguments -- the goal is information at all times, so questions should attempt to remain neutral. (That’s right, trolls -- move along, nothing to see here.)
With those guidelines in mind, simply click the “Add Question” button above your feed and you’re off and running with your first entry.
Clicking on any question in your feed or search results will open answers submitted by other members, where you can add your own question details, add a comment or even flag a question that may not be appropriate. Quora also provides a comprehensive help page for submitting good answers to the website.
In all cases, a good answer should be truthful, authentic and correct whenever possible, directly respond to the question and “supported with argument and color,” as the service describes it. Quora also encourages members to support their answers with outside sources of data or other research, and to keep answers concise and clearly formatted.
Not surprisingly for a website that encourages joining via Facebook or Twitter, Quora is all about “the social.” Questions on the site include a “Follow Question” button to add interesting new queries to your feed, and you always have the option to share questions via Facebook, email or even your Quora inbox.
Additionally, opening a question will reveal how many times it’s been viewed and how many other members are following it. Quora also encourages members to invite others via email, including searching for other members with your own address book.
This week, Quora finally made a big leap outside the web browser with the debut of a new mobile website as well as a free, official iOS app for the iPhone or iPod touch. The move is intended to put its more than 60,000 topics (and counting) in the palm of their members’ hands, and of course, encourage mobile users to join the party who might not have been familiar with the service before.
Quora’s iOS app also takes advantage of push notifications so you’ll know immediately when there’s activity on your questions or answers, as well as topics of interest around you, thanks to location-based technology. While there have been some unofficial apps turn up in the App Store before now, Quora’s official entry is likely to make its addicted members quite happy indeed.
So what are you waiting for? Quora is ready to tackle your burning questions, regardless of whether you’re sitting at your computer, holding your iPhone or out on the town with any other mobile device.
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