Yahoo Answers is the undisputed leader in the Q&A space, vanquishing Google Answers to the DeadPool late in 2006.
But now, a number of researchers who previously worked on Google Answers have started their own new service: Uclue. The team has also posted on the TechCrunch Forums looking for people to help out with the project.
Like Google Answers, people asking questions are charged. The model is a little different, though. Google charged 50 cents to post. Uclue will be free to post. Google had answer fees between $2-200 by credit card upon the question’s answer. Uclue will be in the range of $5-250 paid in advance by PayPal. Whereas Google was English only, Uclue will also support question in Spanish and German.
The site is in a rough beta form right now, with PayPal payments temporarily going to an oddly named account “Everything Eiffel”. To get your question answered, you post it to their board along with the bounty you’re willing to pay. Your question will be answered by a Uclue researcher, who receives 75% of your question price (the uclue service receives the remaining 25%). Questions can be canceled and refunded if you find the answer unsatisfactory or if they go unanswered for 30 days.
J Philip asks the question we’re all wondering, “How does Uclue compare with Google Answers?”. Uclue responds by saying the smaller startup will put more effort into the product than Google did with Answers, the tangentially related product of a multi billion dollar conglomerate. There are some differences in the business plan as well.
Apart from Uclue’s highly motivated staff, it doesn’t seem like Uclue will offer anything radically different from Google’s model that failed after 4 years. Uclue seems doomed to follow down GA’s path, while other services like Ether and Bitwine have at least differentiated themselves by enabling pay-per-call consulting. We already saw another paid answers service, Tinbag, launch last month. Tinbag is a distributed answers service, relying on self-promoting researchers to drum up business on their own Tinbag powered sites.
We’ve covered other answers services before. See our coverage of Live QnA, Yedda, Guruza, Answerbag, and Amazon’s Askville.
the only thing that these uclue founders will do differently than what Google Answers did is “put more effort into the product”?
lol – ok, i guess a little more effort never hurts.
the model of drafting this ‘consulting’ under one roof is not working, period.
if people need advice for a certain something, they’ll search for the professionals’ website via google – then and only then have a professional consultation.
nothing rises from the dead – this isn’t sci-fi
…and we weren’t being literal.
Yup this is just another in the HERD lets see how good it goes….but if they dont have proffwsional back up..ist dead
I thought to start with they will charge a little less. If GA failed starting at $2, I am wondering how uclue will fare starting at $5.
“Questions can be canceled and refunded if you find the answer unsatisfactory”
What if the best possible answer is unsatisfactory to the person asking or what if the answer was exactly what the person needed but said it was unsatisfactory to avoid costs?
Imma ask them why did google answers fail?
I believe Albert Einstein once said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
Google Answers didn’t fail – it was doing fine except that it was unsupported and unpromoted. Nor did Yahoo Answers kill it. It was simply a back burner project in a completely different league that Google opted not to continue at the same time YA happened to be taking off, as it wasn’t similar enough to Google’s other main products.
My first impression is that people willing to seek out a service like this are likely to also know how to use free tools (search, forums) to find the answers as well.
Mass adoption is going to be very hard to come by.
I think uclue can make it.
Everybody needs some expert research assistance now and then, and would be willing to pay to get some help. It’s like needing a plumber or a tax specialist…you don’t need ‘em every day, but when you do need them, you need them bad.
Even if everyone on the net only needs to use a paid Q&A service once every ten years, that’s still millions of customers each year.
The real trick is getting customers with that particular need hooked up with the service that can provide it. Google Answers had a tough time drawing in a crowd because they never much marketed their service. Yahoo Answers markets like crazy, and has huge traffic.
Give uclue some time, and let’s see what they can come up with.
Comparing Google Answers to Yahoo Answers is like comparing caviar to …. soup farts. Sorry, but that’s how it is. i mean if u want stuff 4 free den u gets what u pays fer …. absolute crapola, which is Yahoo “Answers.”
Yes I know I know, everybody seems to think everything should be free, especially if it’s on the internet. But take a group of assorted intellingent and erudite individuals, who happen to be exceptionally good at not only finding, but writing down information — and tell me again why you think they don’t deserve to be paid for their time.
That’s a load of garbage. The answers at Google Answers were of the highest quality and represented in many cases hours of work and carefully crafted information of a quality you simply cannot find on a free service. Nobody is going to do that much work for nothing unless perhaps they are independently wealthy and don’t need to work to pay their bills. Not too many of those kind around I’m afraid.
Next best scenario is to pay a fraction of what you’d pay a private consultant to get a well-researched, properly cited, well-written answer to your question. That was Google Answers — and will be uclue.
Oh – and uclue never aske any questions at TechCrunch forums – that was some other joker who was trying to round up ex-GA people for his other service.
Google Answers IS going to rise from the dead – from Google. It will be relaunched later this year as an Enterprise and Business audience offering. You heard it here first.
Thanks for the tip, Dave. I mean, Informant.
The problem with the “expert” solution is a long-tail one. Can you find enough experts in each category, sub-category to get your questions answered and how will that scale?
Lots of people cry about Yahoo Answers’ low quality of answers. The question is can you improve the quality by charging people $$ with models like UClue OR by picking a niche audience like AnswerU – http://answeru.com?
(disclaimer: I am one of the founders of AnswerU)
Did they get Dugg too ? Sites down
this is too easy: uClue == noClue
You should mention http://www.asktheworld.org as well i think, even if it’s a non-profit service
The main thing uclue’s researchers are “experts” in is finding information, not being a so-called “expert” in some category or other. The service is more like an online reference library, not a consulting firm. But it still takes time, skill and expertise to find and present information which is why the researchers deserve to be paid for their service.
I agree, paying for any ‘’service” on the net is tough. People think services on the net should be free.
– If google couldn’t make it happen, even as a side project. Its not going to work with the same model or people.
– Google’s side project is like a small business’s year long project.
Interesting. The software for Uclue is Askpert, from http://www.w3matter.com/ he’s also the developer behind http://www.funadvice.com/
For the most part, Askpert has a lot less features. From what we’ve seen after running FunAdvice for nearly four years is if you have a single feature (question & answer) you don’t get much repeat traffic.
I fail to see this getting traction
Nice to see that they used software that I built a while back. Hope it works out for them.
http://w3matter...roducts/askpert
Yahoo Answers is a HORRIBLE mess.
Askville is not much better – here’s a hint – only the asker should be able to rate your answers. You get people who don’t know what they’re talking about giving Answerers a poor rating.
The only choice I like is ask.metafilter.com.
I mentioned two main reasons why Google Answers failed in my blog (at http://www.buya...id=9&eid=20):
1. Their business model was too strict. The price should be $2-200 per question. I think if they can allow 1 or even zero (which means free), more people would like to try it. Definitely higher price will caused higher quality answers.
2. Google Answers is not true Web 2.0. Only 250/500 search experts can answer (and lock the question). No opportunity is given to general users and other experts. So there is no real competition. Maybe many general users can provide better answers these experts.
In general, I agree on that the market for paid QA service will take off soon and wish uclue all the best. http://www.buyans.com is doing the same business but with better technology, which can improve both the quality of service and business efficiency.
I like any site that offers a way to make a quick buck off of answering questions.
Learning from their experiences… Uclue is a stand alone entity backed by seasoned, passionate researchers. With the Google Answers experience to work forward from, the Ucletians are well armed not to repeat the mistakes from the past. Also this new Q & A service is not a minute part of a massive organization… it is the entire organization staffed and supported by the most dedicated of the former team. Many new small enterprises (IPOs) on the stock market are entities spun off from larger parent companies and they do much better on their own.
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