Is it legal for me to advertise my bravenet site on google?

Making a Good Google Thing Even Better (II)

• What can Google Answers do to become more successful? Clearly, there's a cadre of wonderfully dedicated answerers, and an (apparently) growing number of internet users aware of the Google Answers service, but the overall volume of questions being asked is not growing very rapidly. I'm a huge fan of what Google Answers has accomplished thus far, and would like to see it move out of beta and become a solid and permanent feature. How can Google best make this happen? Some ideas I've had are: 1. Advertise. It's time to alert the broader public to the availability of this wonderful service. 2. Speak up. Give Google Answers greater prominence on the Google web site itself. 3. Raise the maximum. Let people ask really high-price questions for which they would expect (and get) first rate expert answers from Google "consultants". A lot of the questions (e.g. what's the size of the market for....?) could be answered with enough effort, and access to fee-based reports, but few researchers are willing make the effort and incur the costs needed to go the distance on these, even when the question is posted at the $200 maximum. For $1,000, though... 4. Diversify. Canvass the Answerers to see what languages are spoken other than English, and, where there is a sizable pool of non-English speakers, invite questions in these languages as well, especially by making use of the Google sites in other countries. 5. PR. Sure, there have been articles in tech magazines and the like about Google Answers, but where's the mainstream buzz? This is the coolest thing on the internet in quite some time. it should be a featured story in Time magazine, USA Today, CNN, etc. Get those press people to work! So, my question is...what other good ideas do folks have for pumping up the volume here. Any thoughtful idea will constitute an acceptable answer. And even when an answer is given, I hope people will add ideas through the comment process.

• Answer:

  Hello David, First and foremost, to become an even better Google thing, we need to stomp all the bugs out. That's why the project is still in Beta - to push all the buttons and see what breaks so we know how to fix them if they break later, to figure out what works, what doesn't, and what could work with a little tweaking. That takes time, and from what I've observed, Google doesn't like to let things out of Beta until they're satisfied that it's perfect. Take Google Groups, for instance. When Google bought the database from the former Deja, it was a wreck - nightmarish to navigate, half the time searches turned up nothing, the interface was awful. Groups stayed in Beta for a very long time, a year or more if I remember correctly, and now they're perfect. It would seem that patience is the first key to making sure that Google Answers becomes and remains a thriving, active part of Google as a whole. In the meantime, let me address the ideas you've had before I offer my own: Examples 1 and 2, dealing with advertising and prominence on the main Google page: Google is advertising, albeit in a very tasteful, unintrusive manner. Let's play with Google for a minute. Did you know that some of our customers use "natural language" queries to search? They do! And when they do, they get a little pointer to Google Answers (my son suggested this query): Query: "What is electricity?" ://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%22What+is+electricity%3F%22 Users greeted with no matches are also quietly directed to Google Answers (query from an abbreviation a customer was trying to identify the other night): Query: RAMPUR-BUFF-RMSPUR ://www.google.com/search?q=RAMPUR-BUFF-RMSPUR&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sa=n&oq=RMAPUR-BUFF-RMSPUR The publicity is there, it's just quiet, and with good reason. Before the whole world gets let in on the project, shouldn't we be certain that the equipment, staff and Researchers can handle the traffic? Building slowly and steadily is better in the long run than rapidly and in an uncontrolled manner. Items 3 and 4, while certainly very good ideas, are probably not appropriate for a Beta period. Remember, this project is only a few months old - it only just launched at the end of April! Too many new things, too quickly, would not benefit the project. Again, patience. It would be great to see these things once the project is out of Beta and humming merrily along. The 5th on your list, Mainstream PR: While the site hasn't been written up in Time or Newsweek or splashed on CNN just yet, it doesn't mean that the mainstream media isn't interested. They're watching us - witness the reporter here recently asking Researchers and users to contact him because he was writing about the service. They've got their eyes on us, it's only a matter of time before one of them agrees that yes, this *is* the coolest thing since ICQ, and writes us up in a national publication. When that happens, expect this place to be hopping - and we'd better be ready to handle it. Patience is key here, too, while a solid foundation of Researchers and Policy is being built. And for my own ideas... Start small. Every Researcher and every user has the power to help boost question volume. You've asked questions - but have you told your friends about the service? Have they told their friends? Have they used it? I can point to several questions that have been asked here by either my friends and family (or their friends) because I've recommended that they give the service a try. This one, for instance, was asked by the friend of a close friend of mine, who was told "Try Google Answers. Missy says the Researchers are great!": Swarming attacks in games https://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=47837 It looks like Blader had a terrific time researching the question, and the customer was thrilled. Tell your friends. Tell your mom. Tell your mailman. Put a link in your web page. Word of mouth works! A "What's New" section on the GA front page might be helpful, to keep customers interested and informed. For example, letting our customers know when a new layout or feature was implemented (such as when "Search and Browse" became available), or to announce a new feature coming soon. Make them aware that the site is always growing and changing, and they'll keep coming back to see how. One of our customers dropped a note to say hello the other day, and in conversation suggested that bio clips of Researchers be available, or perhaps a brief write-up about the current Researcher of the Week. I think this is a wonderful idea, too. I don't know about you, but I'm always happy to see an business that takes a minute to thank its contributors out where the customer can see it. I'm more willing to do business with a company that tells me that the people working for them are appreciated. Not to mention, letting the customers know just a little bit about the people working for them helps to build a better business/client relationship - it makes them feel more comfortable with us and plants the seeds of trust between the customer and the Researcher. These are just a few ideas. I'm sure other Researchers and users have even more ideas for you to mull over, so I'll leave a bit open to them to add their two bits as well. Of course, if there's something you'd like me to expand upon or clarify, don't hesitate to ask! --Missy