Is Yahoo! Answers the free virtual assistant?
In a recent post on his blog, Mr. Cheap Stuff took the time to extol the value of having a good virtual assistant to handle tasks like placing office-related orders, organizing business contacts, and rescheduling appointments.
But being Mr. Cheap Stuff, he’s also interested in saving a few bucks here and there. His solution? Yahoo! Answers.
In his post, he proclaims that Yahoo! Answers is an efficient alternative to a virtual assistant for some tasks because the process of asking a community of people for feedback, insights, and opinions based on their own personal experiences is easier than scouring the Web to find the answers yourself:
For example, I recently wanted to know how chocolate affects mental clarity and productivity, so I jumped on Google and began my research.
30 minutes later I had about 10+ browser tabs open with websites about the benefits of chocolate, yikes! Even worse I had sidetracked and began reading other relevant blogs and websites.
So he gave up his search and opted to ask his question on Yahoo! Answers instead. He quickly received answers to his question, one of which satisfied his curiosity (note to Mr. Cheap Stuff — you really should select a Best Answer to your question before it goes to vote).
Check out his question about the mental health benefits of chocolate here.
Mr. Cheap Stuff contends that the added bonus to using Yahoo! Answers as a virtual assistant is that it doesn’t require an hourly wage, which in the end saves time and money.
Here are some Mr. Cheap Stuff recommendations:
Here are some ideas on questions you could ask at Yahoo Answers
- If you are planning a vacation or trip you could ask what are the “must do” things
- You could ask what is a good Italian restaurant in New York City or San Francisco
- What hotel has the best location in a certain city?
- Which is a better dog for children a pug or golden retriever?
- Is coffee bad for your skin?
- How do I get a passport?
- What age do you have to be to drink on international flights?
- What are some cheap things to do in Las Vegas?
Do you use Yahoo! Answers as a virtual assistant? If so, share some of your experiences in a comment below.
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Mario, I have chosen the best answer for all of my Yahoo Answers questions. Thanks for the mention.
Yahoo Answers really is a gem and if use to its full potential can really streamline your life.
i sometimes do
ive used it alot for tv show questions
and sometimes for finding a song for a talent show
and then how to kill breakouts
help on my hw!
Primarily I make use of Yahoo! Answers as an answerer to the Yahoo! Answers category to help others make the most out of the community – and I surely agree when I suggest Yahoo! Answers is a perfect helper.
More recently I have been using Yahoo! Answers to increase awareness of topics close to heart and ask questions reflecting such choices – for example today is Internet Safety Awareness day in the UK (12/2) and I have asked a question to suit such a topic
http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AvHWyVEfd3_ZbBC4XlXMXGUgBgx.;_ylv=3?qid=20080212140116AAhpp9G
I very much enjoy Yahoo! Answers, it is a great asset and a very friendly place to use to gain answers.
I, pretty much figured this out. So now I know, I was
correct. It began and remains, a user friendly and fun
place to visit. Kind of like the zoo. LOL
I generally try to do my own research, and if that doesn’t elicit the information I’m after, I turn to Answers. I’ve been pleasantly surprized by how well it’s worked for me. Even on obscure topics, I’ve received correct and verifiable answers most of the time (and yes, awarded best answer).
One thing I’ve noticed in my own field is that using the correct search terms is crucial. Phrases that seem identical in meaning can bring up very different sets of results. Reading questions, I often think that the asker probably searched with a synonym of the term that would have lead to the information they were after. When I answer those types of questions, I often add an explaination of how to word that type of search in the future.
@Beth — Nice approach to helping others out.
I love Yahoo! Answers. It’s very difficult to word searches into Google or Yahoo search engines. If you’re looking for the use of chocolate, okay, then search engines are good.
But if you’re asking if a certain phrase falls into the First Amendment, then Yahoo! Answers is amazing.
You write your question, get up, go to the bathroom or get a drink of water, and, depending on how difficult the question was, get a ton of answers when you get back.
I also like to help people on Yahoo! Answers more than I ask.
Mario, I’m sharing my knowledge and experience in “Travel / Germany” as I’m a native German, and although there might be some misunderstandings, I’ll keep on sharing what I know about my native country with my humble knowledge of English. I’m getting so much good feedback and mails that I wonder why I hesitated so long to write my first post on Yahoo!Answers USA. I’m learning something new every day by reading questions and answers on Y!A all across the world, and I want to give something back.
Yahoo answers is great not just for those broad general questions that mrcheap gave as an example but alost for the weird, miniscule, and hard to find answers. From needing the name of a show from 15 years ago or how to fix a brokene dvd drive, yahoo answers as saved me time and has given me help when information was necessary.
I believe Yahoo Answers has also helped people in real binds. i’ve read so many “what should i do?” threads from people with real problems and going through the answers, there are a few people who generally care and give heart felt answers to them.
Yahoo Answers is not a virtual assiistant, but sort of a meeting hall for millions of assistants that assist each other. It’s not about racking up points and leveling up, it’s about helping someone with general questions, and with life’s ordeals.
@john — that is an excellent summation of what Yahoo! Answers is. It’s true that Yahoo! Answers can provide some individual virtual assistant-like benefits, but the real power comes from the community, which as you stated comprises of millions of virtual assistants.
One thing I wish to improve is being more informative with community members regarding the way they phrase their questions.
Seeing multiple instances of “What should I do?” looks less inspiring than a more detailed question like, “What should I do about my ailing father?” or “What should I do with dead batteries?”
We’re working on ways to improve this.
is great and wonderful and nice
Mario,
I use Yahoo Answers to answer questions related to one specific ‘topic’, that topic being MYOB Business Management Software. I find it enhances my ability to help my clients, as I may have already encountered the problem and resolved the issue thru my Yahoo Answer.
I would like to be alerted to questions on specific topics.
This community will never be regarded very much with the idiotic mouse as it’s mascot. What moron thought that up? This site isn’t supposed to be for 5 year olds…
Yahoo! made the greatest stand-out REVOLUTION, Yahoo! ANSWERS. For all & any reason could be mentioned.
I can swear that this, Y!A, IS THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF UNANSWERED QUESTIONS. That should be one of its main definitions, baby!
How many unanswered questions do we ask ourselves EVERYDAY?
I’ve always dreamt of having some place on the web that encourages people to share their experiences in all fields of life, because in this world, we’ve come to learn. So we should share what we learn & teach it.
Lastly, this post is just amazing. So thank you so musht!
recycle them old batteries man! and for your fatha get him to a doctor
for more health tips
http://healthvice.blogspot.com