Answers

by Eric March on October 13, 2008 at 9:29 pm

(5 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)

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App Name: Answers
Developer: Xtreme Labs Inc.
Category: Social Networking

Now here’s a nice, practical use for a social networking app.  Answers is similar to LinkedIn, in that it is designed to be a personal braintrust where you can throw out a question that you need an answer to, and hopefully, someone knowledgeable about the subject will respond with an answer.  Unlike LinkedIn, this is aimed at the broader segment of the general public who want answers to a wider range of questions that aren’t necessarily related to their profession.

Questions can be asked through the selection of a variety of topics, and any number of people can answer them.  Answers can be voted up or down by other users, so you can see who has voted for the best answer and use that as a kind of straw poll as to which one is the best.  Of course, you always need to keep in mind that you’re asking questions of the hoi polloi, and they may not be wholly accurate.  It’s more or less the equivalent of asking people in a bar to settle a bet for you over the answer to a particular question — though hopefully with less inebriation and more coherency.

It’s a pretty good idea, though it remains to be seen how effective it will be once it catches on.  I suspect that, on the whole, it will pretty good, but undoubtedly you’ll also get the crackpots who post crap either for lulz or because they’re amassing a collection of tinfoil hats, so it’ll be up to you and the voters at large to filter the crap from the quality.

Note that this is not a chat app.  It’s more like a mobile version of answers.com or The Straight Dope’s general questions board (the latter of which I am an active member).

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Posted in Social Networking