When I am searching some information for my case write-up, I find a website which is similar to Wikipedia, providing information for users’ questions, however in conversation format, Quora.
Quora was co-founded by two former Facebook employees in 2009 and known as a question-and –answer website. Users can cooperate with each other by editing questions and suggesting to other users’ answers, much resembling Wikipedia. However, what makes the two different is that Quora combines more social feature. Users can comment and share good answers that they find on certain question and also vote for the best answer. The website answers people’s questions through “conversation” instead of directory format. And the sequent Q&A may even leads to new questions and vise versa. I see Quora as crowdsourcing; it utilities collective intelligence from the public, allowing questions to be solved faster, cheaper with diverse and rich discussion. Since everyone can share his or her opinion and open for discussion, the answer concluded should be the most approved and credible one. Namely, Quora functions in a collaborative and interactive way, gaining more credibility and socialization.
( Interface of Quora-http://www.quora.com/about)
Though Wikipedia is really helpful when searching for some information, I find Quora really interesting because it makes me feel that I am chatting with others instead of searching for information. Users can enjoy the process of exploring answers and also offering some answers based on personal experiences and thoughts. Quora is defined as social question website; it asks users to log in with either Twitter or Facebook account. By embedding social networking, Quora can recommend some professional people from your friends list to answer your questions or even customize the answer for you. This may rely on the fact that people tend to help friends; so, our questions will be solved as soon as possible once our friends have noticed and the answers will be more personalized and catered to our preferences.
The video is briefly introduction about Quora. Take a look and browse through the website
