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Askville, Linkedin or Yahoo: Ask Who?

Published on December 3, 2007 in 2007, Amazon, Best Answers, Best Questions, Google, Linkedin, Quest gold, Questville.com, Strategy, Yahoo Answers, askville.com, internet, media and quest coins. 2 Comments

Amazon has tried it’s own version of “Yahoo Answers” called Askville. Askville.com was earlier launched in December 2006, so this is a re-launch of Askville in a way.

That’s a brave move, I’d say after Google Answers and practically everyone else who duplicated the concept of Yahoo Answers collapsed.

Amazon describes Askville as a “place where you can share and discuss knowledge with other people by asking and answering questions on any topicâ€?. We have heard that one before, so what’s new?

Amazon is rewarding Askville.com users for the use of widgets in answering. So you can add Amazon products, google maps, videos from YouTube, Google, Bolt, etc. Now this reward is in the form of experience points, and virtual currency called “Quest Coins” will be redeemed through another Amazon affiliate site, Questville.com to be launched later this year.

You guessed it right, “Experience Pointsâ€? and “Quest Coinsâ€? will not be easily gained! However, Amazon has mentioned that Askville.com users who answer questions could receive Quest Gold, which will be redeemable for USD50 or USD100 Amazon.com Gift cards for a limited time.

Internet powerhouses and Web 2.0 players are constantly re-inventing the wheel, and in the process, users get split across the board. Those who seek answers seek a site that features “Best Answers” and those who answer seek “Best Returns”..I guess a combination that separates these two out might be a better answer.

Orkut Ask Friends a Question

Published on November 2, 2007 in Ask Friends, Business networking, GOOG, Google, Google Inc., Linkedin, Mobius, Orkut, Questions, Yahoo Answers, internet, networking, resources, social networking and tools. 1 Comment

“Ask Friends a Question” in Orkut reminds me of “Yahoo Answers”. Supposedly the idea is derived from “LinkedIn answers”, and you can now ask questions to your friends on Orkut.

When you ask a question, Google automatically suggests relevant categories based on the keywords/text of your question. The code Mobius is used for this first application on Orkut platform.

For example: I asked “Anyone interested in guest blogging?”
And the suggestion I got was ” Blogging Resources and Services“.

Orkut Ask Friends

“Ask friends” for Orkut users would mean:
Relevant questions.
Relevant answers.
Common questions.
Common answers.
Trust and reliability.

“Ask Friends” for Orkut (or Google) would mean:
More searches
More ads

If you find this a cool feature, go to Edit Feeds, add Ask Friend’s application, navigate to Mobius and fire. You also have the choice to ask “Among Friends” or “Individual Friends you choose”.

OpenSocial: Google’s FaceBook

Published on October 30, 2007 in Business networking, Facebook, Friendster, Google, Google Inc., Linkedin, Open Social, OpenSocial, Orkut, Plaxo, Social graphs, Startup, XING, hi5 and social networking. 1 Comment

 OpenSocial
OpenSocial, Google’s open challenge to Facebook will launch this Thursday. OpenSocial is a set of three common APIs, that will allow access to user data, graph for friends information, and Feeds to learn the latest activities. XING, Friendster, LinkedIn, Plaxo, Newsgator, hi5 and Ning would be be joining Google and Orkut. Developers from some key Facebook Companies such as Flikster, Rock You, Slide, and iLike to work would be behind the making of this new social/business networking site.

There is wide speculation that Google could win it’s way through this in a breeze, given that good partners are siding with Google and Google has both the resources and the experience to successfully streamline the network on all social networks from one control-center.

What this means for Google and users?

More power. If Google ends up becoming the leading networking site, it might become a one-stop platform for  users to associate with their online identity. More applications would increase searches and Google might also add ads to add to user interest, increasing ad searches as well.

Developers would jump to make one new site a day, but irrespective of whether this is a hype or not, increasing networking sites can take away a lot of time away from the average user, from adding a profile to actively networking… it’s a huge effort, only makes it worse when you have to redo the whole thing again and again. Tired of even thinking of yet another sign-up. Are you? After all the publicity, OpenSocial better be worth the noise!!

Webby Award Winners 2007

Published on May 2, 2007 in 2007, Blogosphere, Flickr, Howstuffworks, Ikea, Linkedin, Onion, Treehugger, Webby Awards, Winners, Yelp and lonelygirl15. 0 Comments

Webby AwardsNo surprises.

Flickr, Yelp, Onion, Howstuffworks, Treehugger, Ikea, Linkedin, Lonelygirl15 are the popular names we are familiar with amongst the winners of the most prestigious internet awards, the Webby Awards. See the rest here.