Google

You remember Mr. Know-It-
All. Maybe you called him
Mr. Smartypants, but we can
all remember the kid with all the
answers. With his right hand seemingly
constantly in the air, Mr.
Know-It-All dispatched questions
ranging from “Where is Timbuktu?”
to “What is the Second
Law of Thermodynamics?” without
breaking a sweat. While you struggled
through your homework, Mr.
Know-It-All, that walking, talking
fountain of knowledge, was working
ahead at a breakneck pace.
Thanks to Google Answers, you
can hire Mr. Know-it-all and put
him to work on your questions.
Although the search engine itself
does an admirable job scouring
the World Wide Web for answers
to your most perplexing questions,
technology can only go so far; Google
is only as effective as the person using
it. That’s not exactly the most comforting
feeling when you need to
know if a particular tidbit of knowledge
is accurate.
A crack team of “more than 500
carefully screened Researchers” constitutes
the heart and soul of Google
Answers. Even though Researchers
are independent contractors (meaning
they’re not on Google’s payroll),
Google takes this service very seriously
and has a number of safeguards
in place to ensure the answers you receive
are correct.
Before you rely on Google Answers
as your all-encompassing authority
on the universe’s greatest
mysteries, understand there are
limits to its power. Although a little
T HE S EARCH
Google Answers
Call On A Professional
For Your Toughest Questions
common sense should deter you
from asking questions such as “Does
that cute girl in the third row even
know I exist?” there are certain types
of questions Google Answers frowns
up and may even remove. Avoid
asking any questions that:
May seek private information
about individuals
Request advice about engaging in
illegal activities
Sell or advertise products
Refer or relate to adult or lewd
content
Pertain to homework or exam
questions (earn that degree, son)
Also, Google requests you send an
email regarding any specific questions
about Google or Google Answers to
answers-support@google.com. Finally,
don’t expect an answer to take the
place of certain types of professional
advice, such as queries relating to
medical, financial, or legal matters.
Answer Hunters
Because Google Answers relies on
flesh-and-blood human rsearchers,
its fact-finding process is a little
more involved than something
such as Ask Jeeves (www.ask.com).
The Q & A process is essentially a
simple one. When you post a question,
it’s fair game to every
Researcher. When a Researcher accepts
a question and begins to
track down the answer, the question
is locked for a given amount
of time, meaning no other
Researcher can provide an answer.
Other registered users (people
who use Google Answers just like
you) are free to post their own answers
as comments, and if you’re
satisfied with one of these answers,
you can cancel your question as
long as it hasn’t been locked or answered
(you’ll still have to pay a
50-cent listing fee).
Although some Researchers
have expertise in a particular field,
don’t assume a Researcher who
answers your question about the
Valley of the Kings is a scholar in
Egyptian history. Google Answers
thoroughly screens potential Researchers
with test questions and
guarantees Researchers are experts at
locating information from both online
and offline resources. Each
Researcher should also have topnotch
communication skills, but
Google Answers lets Researchers field
questions about subjects in which
they possess little or no intimate
knowledge. Either way, Google
Answers offers a refund process if
you’re not satisfied with your answer.
To ensure its service remains firstrate,
Google Answers regularly evaluates
Researchers and their answers.
Before they even answer a single question,
Researchers undergo a thorough
screening. Once a candidate becomes a
Reference Series / Guide To Using Google 49