Social Media + Yahoo! Answers = Aardvark
Posted on 07. Dec, 2009 by Zahid Lilani. 12
Aardvark is like Yahoo! answers but only better because it uses your social media connections to discover the perfect person to answer your question in minutes. The process is very simple, ask a question and get a response within 5 minutes.
Aardvark can be used on the web, through IM tools (Gtalk, AIM, Yahoo! and MSN messenger), Twitter, iPhone and any email program. There is no tedious registration process, it imports the data from your Facebook profile and in future the service plans to incorporate other social networks.
Unlike Yahoo! Answers, you can be at ease that there is a 99% chance that the person answering the question is a real person and not a business trying to push their product. Yahoo! Answers is infested with SEO service companies trying to answer each and every question in order to plug a link in the resource box for better Search Engine Rankings.
I understand you might say what about privacy, well it is simple. You don’t need to add anyone or open up your profile to anyone you don’t know. Just because someone from your extended network is answering your question doesn’t mean they get access to your Facebook profile.
My Aardvark tool of choice is of course the iPhone app. It has a clean interface and you can get a push notification as soon as your question is answered. I love answering questions more than asking questions, it’s just my personality.
Aardvark is excellent if you want to get answers to common questions like best places to eat, exciting places to visit and so on. I have seen people ask complicated questions and I am sure they have received prompt responses.
| 
The average time Aardvark has taken to answer my question is 2 minutes. Now that’s really amazing, at least someone has figured out how to use social media to answer common questions effectively.
Yesterday, VentureBeat reported that Aardvark is considering a $30 million-plus offer from Google. In my opinion, $30 million is really vey low for a company like Aardvark considering the potential it has. Google can take it to new heights but with an offer like $30 million, seems like Google just wants to get rid of the people who initially founded Vark (ex-googlers).
In any case, my profile on Vark.
What do you think about the acquisition talk? Do you use Vark?
Weekly Roundup Of Interesting Social Media News Stories
Posted on 06. Dec, 2009 by Zahid Lilani. 3
Weekly roundup of interesting social media news Stories from around the web. Stories are hand picked and not computer generated. I Hope you enjoy your Social Media Sunday.
Tweetbookz: Social Media Print Company Looks For A Piece Of The Twitter Pie – by Beth Hodgson for InventorSpot
As everyone tries to capitalize on Twitter’s enormous success, innovating ideas are flourishing. Tweetbookz lets you organize the best of your Tweets into a book. The timing of this product is good, perfect gift for the social media enthusiast in your family.
Where Social media heads next? – by Satinder Kaur for ITVoir
I have seen quite a few social media predictions that are exaggerated or simply wishful thinking but this article gets it right with realistic predictions.
Survey: Social Media Makes Kids Better Writers – by David Worthington for Technologizer
The new generation won’t be as dumb as previously thought, at least not when it comes to writing. Blogging and texting makes them better in more ways than previously thought.
Social Media Case Study Round-Up – by Clark Fredricksen for eMarketer
I talked about a similar article last week that talked about social media case studies and ROI, here is another interesting list.
On PR, Social Media and the Evolution of the Web with Robert Scoble – Brian Solis [VIDEOS]
When a geek meets with a PR person, things get very interesting. WARNING: You should have at least 1 hour to kill, the videos are very long and avoid being around kids, Scoble uses the F word.
The Journalist’s Guide to Maximizing Personal Social Media ROI – by Leah Betancourt for Mashable
The 4 Cornerstones of Social Media Monitoring – by Brian Chappell for Social Media Today
How to Build a Social Media Campaign – by Hilary JM Topper for BusinessWeek
Mashable’s Twitter and Facebook Disconnect
Posted on 03. Dec, 2009 by Zahid Lilani. 10
If you keep track of social media, Mashable is not news to you. I frequent Mashable all the time and sometimes I feel dizzy and sometimes enlightened. That’s not what this post is really about but I had to get that out because what I am about to say is only going to sit with you if you know where I am coming from.
When I am on Mashable and I see an interesting post, my cursor moves towards Retweet and Share button found on each and every blog post. After doing it few times, I started noticing something very odd. There was a big difference between number of Retweets and Shares.
Retweets show how many times the post has been Retweeted on Twitter and Shares is Facebook’s word for spreading love. You can pick up any blog post on Mashable and see that Retweets are more than Shares. Why?
It’s not just more, it has a widening disconnect and I might have a theory, in fact two.
Theory 1
Twitter is dominated by social media junkies, most of these enthusiasts are using TwitterFeed to auto update their Twitter streams or will re-tweet anything and everything posted on Mashable.
Theory 2
People who frequent Mashable are not avid Facebook users or they think that their Facebook friends could care less about social media.
There was a time I know when Mashable posts used to get a lot of Diggs. Now, I don’t think they care about Digg, it’s all about Twitter these days. On average, Mashable posts have at least 500+ Retweets
I follow @Mashable and @BenParr. Within few minutes of a new post on Mashable, it is Tweeted by both @Mashable and @Benparr and maybe numerous other Mashable authors that I don’t follow. It’s really not possible to do something like this on Facebook. Once you share a link on Facebook and then if your friend decides to share it, I don’t think that affects Mashable shares count.
What do you guys think? Do you have another theory? Am I missing something here?
10 Questions Twitter Newbies Should Ask Shari
Posted on 02. Dec, 2009 by Zahid Lilani. 8
Twitter is like sending a text message to the entire world. Twitter is what you make out of it. Twitter is the best thing since sliced bread.
I know you have heard it all and like most people, you are not convinced if Twitter is the tool you need in your life right now if you are happy with Facebook. The best way to approach the question “Is Twitter for me?” is to ask questions. Once you get the answers, relax and try to digest the information. After the digestion, you will either hop on to Twitter or…
Shari is doing a workshop for Twitter newbies and I decided that I can help her by pretending to be a Twitter newbie and asking all sort of questions, here is a list of 10 questions newbies should be asking Shari:
1 – Twitter is only for Celebrities and their fans, is that true?
2 – Why should I tell the world what I am eating?
3 – Only teenagers use Twitter, I am not a Teenager.
4 – Twitter is for bloggers to advertise, I am not a blogger.
5 – Who should I be following on Twitter?
6 – 140 Characters don’t make sense, I need more space to convey my message.
7 – I don’t like the idea of everyone being able to read my Tweets.
8 – What are some Twitter success stories?
9 – What book should I read to understand Twitter?
10 – Is Twitter here to stay?
As a Twitter newbie, what would you ask Shari?
My First Experience Using Google Wave
Posted on 01. Dec, 2009 by Zahid Lilani. 7
I got my Google Wave invite almost 3 weeks ago and since then I was waiting for the ability to invite others so that I can play with it. In Google’s own words “Google Wave is more fun when you have others to wave with.” My wait is over, I have the ability now to nominate others and so I nominated my wife and few other close friends.
When I first got Wave, I felt like I was excited for nothing. Wave comprises of 3 windows to begin with that have more white space then I can handle. I left it the way it was, didn’t do anything and waited…
Let me try to make a sense of it all…
After reading what ever I could find on Wave, I came to the same conclusion every time. Google Wave was created by geeks for geeks to play with. Wave wasn’t created with the end user in mind, it wasn’t designed to deal with common problems an average person will face while trying to figure out how to use it.
Wave has its own lingo. Even though it is supposed to be Chat+Email, it feels more like two employees from the same organization talking over intranet. In other words, geeks all over the world talking to geeks. When Gmail was introduced, we all knew what Compose, Spam, Inbox, Drafts etc meant but do you know what ping, extensions, playback etc mean?
Of course you will learn but there is a learning curve, that’s the point I am trying to make. Why didn’t Google use something we are already know to invent something new?
I am not judging Wave and saying it won’t last, maybe it will and maybe it won’t. No matter what, it sure has created a lot of buzz around. People will start using it, Google will start improving the interface and we will all live happily ever after…
I have quite a few Google Invites available, if you want me to nominate you, Retweet this post and comment below. Please don’t include your email address in the comment box.
Blog Info and Ranking
Recent Comments