Ok, in attempt to even out my comments between Yahoo and Google advancements, I decided to check out ‘Yahoo Answers after I made the post about Google Answers.
Wow, these two couldn’t be more day and night. Where Google Answers has pre-screened researchers to answer your question, Yahoo leaves it open to the masses– even encouraging multiple people to answer the question by awarding points to the answer either deemed ‘best’ by the asker or by an open poll (note, I did not say ‘right’, I said ‘best answer’). Also, since Yahoo doesn’t charge for asking a question and the only requirement is that you have a Yahoo id, there are an overabundance of inane, jokingly asked questions.
I will say, it did hold my attention for a long time. Perhaps my desire to ‘help’ people (I found myself saying “wow, these are HORRIBLE answers” alot and adding my own comments), makes this a place I actually need to avoid so I don’t waste hours on end. Just now I found myself compelled to answer someone who was asking “what is there to do in Sacramento?”
I do see some potential for market research opportunities but the quality of answers could be all over the board, depending on your niche. I’d say check it out at your own risk (or if you’re looking to kill two hours).