top o'the weekend to ya, kids!

***UH-UH-UH...DON'T LOCK THIS QUESTION YET***

granny's gonna try another one of her infamous experiments.  I've been
around since the inception of this service and have noticed quite a
few trends -- the most annoying of which is that the *best* researcher
isn't always the one who answers the question.  this seems to be a
sense of frustration for both the customer and the researcher.

hypothetically speaking, say a customer wants an answer and is willing
to wait for the BEST, not merely the QUICKEST answer.  in this
scenario *only,* I would like you to do a couple things:

1.  take a critical assessment of yourself (you know, the one only a
mother can give) and tell me what your areas of **expertise** and
interest are.  can we agree that most people excel and are willing to
give extraordinary answers if they're also interested in their
subject?  this might be something a customer would like to know
beforehand.

2.  tell me if you work for this service full-time and how long I can
expect to wait if I direct a question to you (generally speaking).

3.  if you could name just one *constructive* item towards the
betterment of this service, what would it be?

4.  by a jury of your peers, would you kindly nominate your choice for
best researcher in the following categories (or any specific field you
choose):
 
Arts and Entertainment    
Reference, Education and News  
Business and Money    
Relationships and Society  
Computers    
Science  
Family and Home    
Sports and Recreation  
Health    
Miscellaneous  

****PLEASE USE COMMENT FIELD ONLY****

I would like to keep this question open for the ***FULL 30 DAYS*** so
everyone has a chance to participate.  toward the end of the month,
I'll select the most enjoyable and informative answer.  thanks so much
for playing our game and have fun!

---

Clarification of Question by badabing-ga on 08 Mar 2003 11:14 PST

also, for a tip, please nominate your favorite customer(s).  thanks!

---

Clarification of Question by badabing-ga on 08 Mar 2003 16:08 PST

thanks so much for your thoughts so far and missy-ga I'm glad you
enjoy my questions.  I wish I could pay all of you what you're worth
for this service is a big help to me.

thank you sublime1-ga for your comments.  I realize the concept of the
service but I'm one of those people who wants an expert handling my
question and I'm not concerned about waiting for an answer  -- as long
as I have confidence that it's the correct researcher for the job.  I
appreciate getting personal recommendations for any work being done
for me -- whether it's someone answering a question or a plumber
fixing my sink.  what better source than the researcher community at
large for their nominations.  they mind the store on a full-basis.  I
can take their recommendation -- or not.  also, I'd like to direct my
questions to someone who will enjoy them.

**addendum** 

could I amend and more personalize those category choices please? 
these are usually my main topics of interest:

*mysterious laundry/carpet stain removal

*drugs names (usually new to the market), legal or illegal. 
pinkfreud-ga is very good at this and I think she enjoys them (no
judgment here). ;-)

*obscure musical artists

*truly diehard language fanatics (probably taught by nuns ... you know
who you are)

*word/phrase etymology (some of this is killer research but if you
like it, it's quite satisfying and goes beyond the pittance I can
afford) juggler-ga is quite good at this and I usually request him,
poor boy!

*esoteric philosophies and customs

*occasional computer question (only patient people please.  as
Einstein said, "you do not really understand something unless you can
explain it to your grandmother."  God help you, I wouldn't volunteer
for this assignment, but I'd like to know who you are just in case.)
missy-ga is quite good at explanations and she's indeed quite patient.
 run, missy, run!

*lots and lots of miscellaneous, so I'll look for all you generalists
out there.

I do not want this to be a negative exercise.  feel free to toot your
own horn and tell me what you're good at and why.  this should be a
celebration of researcherdom -- not a cockfight.  if you see this as
politically incorrect, indeed granny's quite that way, but she loathes
and detests Bill Maher.  please, answer only if you feel comfortable. 
thanks for your thoughtful comments.  I'm enjoying reading them.

---

Clarification of Question by badabing-ga on 06 Apr 2003 16:13 PDT

well, another experiment comes to an end.  thanks everyone very much
for the time taken to write up your recommendations.  granny enjoyed
reading each and every one.  it was a difficult choice but I have
chosen tehuti-ga for the completeness of her answer and her humor. 
bravo and thanks for contributing!

tehuti, please post a "hey" to granny and collect your bootay.

granny...

If Bill Maher were a researcher, he might dare to answer this,
but for many of us, I believe it smacks of 'politically incorrect'
in that it's asking us to proceed with providing information which
is not in keeping with the current system. The system you are
proposing would move the site towards providing 'expert input'
in specific areas. While there are, no doubt, certain researchers
with expertise in many areas, and while they certainly tend to
answer questions in those areas, the essential dynamic of the
current system is that researchers are 'expert' primarily in the
activity of researching. This means that they are capable of 
looking into a subject about which they may know very little, 
and through research and judicious editing, assembling
an answer by pointing the way to experts in data beyond their
own knowledge (such as the nature of gravity, or the lyrics to 
a song they've never heard. Since I believe that the majority 
of questions fall into this area, I don't know that Google 
believes it would be advantageous to present the site and the
researchers in a light which implies that the answer would be
based on their own expertise, vs their expertise in researching.

Additionally, the current system works fairly well in doing what
your proposal promotes, in that researchers who are experts in
a particular area can and do watch categories of special interest
to them, and are capable of locking these with fair regularity.
Also, e.g., most of the seasoned researchers are quick to acknowledge
that a question about drug interactions could best be tackled by
someone like kevinmd-ga, who has access to software for this very
purpose, and they therefore leave it open for him, and often notify
him of the question, as well.

It is also possible for a customer to specify the researcher whom
they wish to answer a question. While, admittedly, this, and the
previous courtesy are sometimes overlooked by the newer researchers,
hopefully they will learn the ways of the experienced and come to 
recognize what is best for all concerned. If not, they will reap
the consequences upon review, and in their work. I've never seen
it happen yet, but I suppose it's also possible for a customer to 
specify "Volleyball in the Antarctic - NOT to be answered by 
newbie-ga".  : )

Regards...
sublime1-ga

Granny, Granny, I do so love your experiments!  Especially when
they’re an interesting diversion from an otherwise dreary day!

Let’s get to your questions, posthaste!

“1.  take a critical assessment of yourself (you know, the one only a
mother can give) and tell me what your areas of **expertise** and 
interest are.”

I consider myself a generalist – thanks to years and years of
ruthlessly playing Trivial Pursuit for blood, “favors” and the promise
of the indentured servitude of opponents’ first born children, I’ve
gained quite a body of general knowledge.  I’d like to think that I’d
do well with any subject presented.  After all, researching isn’t
about already knowing everything, but knowing *where to find it*.

Even so, I do have some abilities in the fields of cooking, copyright
issues, and internet issues, as well as educational issues (I trained
as a teacher), children’s literature, and music.

“ can we agree that most people excel and are willing to 
give extraordinary answers if they're also interested in their 
subject?  this might be something a customer would like to know 
beforehand. “

Absolutely.  If a particular question catches my eye and really piques
my curiosity, I’ll dig in hard and deep to learn everything I can and
give my customer a good answer.  I might not know a lot about a
subject when I start, but I sure will by the time the answer is
posted!

I think this is true of most of our number.  The most important thing
isn’t knowing the answer, but knowing where to find the answer and
presenting the information in an organized fashion so the customer can
understand it.  We’re all a curious lot, and most of us can, with the
exception of some highly specialized technical questions, find the
answer to just about everything.
 
“2.  tell me if you work for this service full-time and how long I can
expect to wait if I direct a question to you (generally speaking).”

I fit my Google Answers time around my childrens’ schedules, so you
can pretty much count on me being in The Purple Chair of Doom from 9AM
to 3PM, EST, Monday through Friday, then in 2 or 3 hour stretches
after that until about 2AM EST.  Saturdays and Sundays, too, but I do
occasionally shut the computer completely off for a few hours on those
days to handle boring chores like laundry and other housework.

You can typically expect an *acknowledgement* from me within an hour
or two of posting a question for me.  The actual answer depends on the
complexity of the question, and where I need to go/what I need to do
to track down the information you want.  I try to keep my customers
abreast of progress if the answer will take more than a few hours,
though.
 
“3.  if you could name just one *constructive* item towards the 
betterment of this service, what would it be?”

More publicity, please!  A customer tracked me down recently, and told
me that she was surprised that Google Answers existed!  We’re listed
in the “Tools” section, but few people really visit there.  They find
us by accident!  Though we’ve been discussed in publications like the
Wall Street Journal, the San Francisco Chronicle, the New York Times,
and others, that’s just not enough.  We need more visibility – our own
link on Google’s main page would certainly give us that.

Also, we need a more specific set of customer service standards laid
down.  Maybe I’m just overly picky about how to take care of our
customers, but I’m of the opinion that too many of our number forget
that we are here to serve the customer’s needs – not the other way
around.  It really irritates me when a customer's specific
instructions aren't followed!

Our customers are a vital part of our service, and they need to be
treated that way from all quarters.
 
“4.  by a jury of your peers, would you kindly nominate your choice
for
best researcher in the following categories (or any specific field you
choose)”: 

Geez Granny, that’s tough!  A lot of our Researchers overlap!!  Still,
I like the chance to sing the praises of our Researchers!
  
Arts and Entertainment  - Pinkfreud.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen
anyone with such a large body of obscure musical knowledge.  Her
customers adore her, and so do I!
  
Reference, Education and News – Larre and Journalist.  They’re
meticulous, thorough, and know what they’re talking about.  They give
detailed and clear answers, and make sure their customers understand
the big picture.

Business and Money  - In Finance and Accounting  – Calebu2 and
Mathtalk.  These boys can talk numbers.  They scare me.  I luuurve
them.
   
Relationships and Society  - In Law:  Expertlaw and Weisstho.  They’re
lawyers, they’re going to have a better grasp of this than anyone! 
And they’re dears.  In Politics:  Politcalguru.  She knows her stuff.

Computers  - Aceresearcher, Hammer and Cerebrate.  They all have hands
on experience in the field, and they take the time to detail their
answers out thoroughly.  Even the computer novice can understand what
these three write.  I’m personally convinced that the tech world is
better for their efforts at solving their customers problems, and
educating them so they don’t have them again.

Family and Home –  Specifically, Cooking:  not to be immodest, Granny,
but me!  My pile of cookbooks stands taller than the top of our family
van, and I’ve been practicing the craft since I could see over the
stove.  Friends recently gifted me with a very expensive set of
professional cookware, with the admonition that they were doing it so
I’d have the proper tools with which to pamper them (they always beg
me to cook).  I think that’s quite an endorsement!  (It doesn’t hurt
that I really like food.  It’s a pleasure, not a chore, to work with
it.)

I have to say, though, that Chromedome could give me a real run for my
money.  Given his passion for the subject, his bread can probably whup
my bread ten times over, and by the time he’s done with cooking
school, his abilities will rival even Chef Robuchon’s!

Health  and Science (gonna lump these together) - KevinMD and Tehuti,
hands down.  If I needed help with a medical problem, I would go with
either of them.  They are thorough, detailed, non-alarmist, and always
remind their customers to see their personal physicians.  It’s obvious
that they care for the well-being of those they serve.
 
Miscellaneous – Juggler and Bobbie7.  They’re everywhere, and can find
nearly everything.  I’m hard pressed to think of a category they
haven’t answered - and answered well! - in.

Additional categories:  

Pitbull-like perseverance award goes to Guillermo!  Can we say
“stamina”?  He’s gone the extra TEN miles for customers, forgoing
sleep and answering in stunning detail.  Somebody give that man a cup
of coffee!

Best improvement: Pafalafa.  Dave’s got it going on in the “I got
better!” department.  That’s his tale to tell, though.  Suffice to
say, he’s kicking butt these days.

“also, for a tip, please nominate your favorite customer(s).  thanks!”

Oh boy!  I have a bunch!

Probonopublico – Bryan cracks me up.  He asks fun questions, kids with
the Researchers and good-naturedly receives kidding in return, and is
never mean to us.  (And I really liked his book, but that’s neither
here nor there.)

Johnfrommelbourne – Total sweetheart.  He sticks up for us!  I love
that John, like Bryan, will banter with us while we work.  He’s a
pleasure to work for.

Anonymous777 – Johnny’s work is very challenging!  A stickler for
detail, he knows what he wants and how he wants it.  Some might see
this as a detriment, but I really enjoy working for him because I know
what he expects.

Badabing – No fooling, Granny.  I dig you as a customer.  You always
ask interesting questions, and I still recall fondly the work I did
for you regarding whirling dervishes.  Dancing in any form is a joy,
and learning about that form was particularly cool.

Thanks so much for something more interesting to do than housework!!

--Missy

Hi granny,

1. My interests and areas of expertise: Well, I'm not sure my
interests really apply here. I'm a voracious reader and moviegoer.
Love tracking down news articles. Let's see what else . . . I, too,
find word/phrase etymologies intriguing. Biographical and genealogical
stuff. I worked in consumer credit reporting for a good chunk of years
so I've got that background. I worked in a medical library so I am
familiar with some types of medical research and sources.

I've answered a couple of questions that related to my personal
interests and background, but to be honest, I've answered a lot more
on topics of which I knew nothing. I'm trained to be able to locate
and retrieve information and in my non-GA existence, I don't usually
have the luxury of knowing much about a particular subject. Someone
asks me a question and I have to dive in head first. The areas I am
weak in would be law and business. Those require knowledge of a host
of sources with which I simply have little expertise.

I enjoy questions that require me to do offline research. I hate
microfilm, but I'm not afraid to use it. Sometimes it's the only
choice. Historical stuff, tracking down news items, putting facts
together to solve a research puzzle--to solve/answer one of those?
that's satisfaction.

2. Am I full-time?
I do GA on the side. I check the site at least once a day, and
habitually check for my handle so if a question's directed to me, I'll
see it.

3. Improving the service
Missy said it. More publicity. I can't improve upon that.

Regards,
luciaphile-ga

Greetings granny, 

You like challenging questions!  Here are my comments

 1    tell me what your areas of **expertise** and interest are.  

I must admit that I do like to see myself as a “renaissance woman”,
able to find information on and get to grips with a variety of
subjects.  However, my specific expertise, in terms of the academic
qualifications I hold and my work experience, covers: biology,
medicine and related subjects such as toxicology, internet and
database searching, ethical issues concerning our relation with
animals and the whole topic of animal testing.  I am also familiar
with several languages, and can process information from some
non-English web sites far more accurately than automatic translators.

I do want to clarify, though, with respect to missy-ga’s very kind
comments, that I, unlike kevinmd-ga, am not a physician, and therefore
will not tackle all the medical questions that he tackles. I am
however, totally at home with medical terminology and with medical and
biomedical concepts. The sort of questions I am happy to tackle in the
medical field are basically those for which I can search available
information and present it in language that is more comprehensible to
a non-specialist.  This covers questions about the causes of and
treatments for a specific condition, including the latest findings in
this area, and the effects of drugs, and also questions relating to
general health issues, food supplements, lifestyle, etc.  I would
never  answer a question asking for a diagnosis or a prognosis.

I also consider myself an expert in the area of my main interest,
which is the history, culture and religion of Ancient Egypt, although
I would not wish to get into a duel with digsalot-ga about this.
My other main interests include comparative religion and mythology,
esotericism (inc. but not limited to astrology, qabalah, tarot,
hermetic magic), classical and ancient music and literature.

Perhaps equally important are the areas in which I am least likely, or
totally unlikely to answer questions, either because I do not
understand the subject or because I do not find it at all interesting:
mathematics, the “harder sciences” (physics, chemistry etc), IT and
technology, marketing and markets, other business information, law,
genealogy.

 
2.  tell me if you work for this service full-time and how long I can
expect to wait if I direct a question to you (generally speaking).
 
I do not work for GA fulltime, because at present it does not provide
sufficient questions to guarantee an adequate income, and has too many
researchers chasing too few questions.  I would also wish to have some
assurance that the service is intended to be a permanent feature of
Google before I included it among my core sources of income. I am
currently in fulltime employment, but am also establishing a freelance
business as translator, indexer and information consultant. Until GA
can offer me better guarantees, all these will have to take priority. 
However, I do dip into GA at frequent intervals day and evening most
days.  Whether or not I will lock a question at these times will
depend on whether I do or do not think I have the time to tackle it.

With respect to response times of questions directed specifically at
myself, it would depend to some extent on the complexity of your
question and my other commitments at the time, so your answer might be
immediate in some cases and take days in others. I do tend to be away
a lot at weekends, and sometimes also have to travel midweek.  Also,
the time at which you posted your question would be crucial, since we
are on opposite sides of the Atlantic, and therefore questions you
post late evening will not be seen by me for several hours. 
Certainly, as soon as I noticed a question directed at me, I would let
you know if I was unable to answer it immediately (or at all!!!!), and
I would not be offended if, as a result, you redirected it to someone
else.  The main problem is whether I would see your question.  GA does
not offer any means for users to contact a specific researcher,
therefore, I might not be aware of your question unless I happened on
it or was alerted about it by another researcher.

3.  if you could name just one *constructive* item towards the
betterment of this service, what would it be?

A serious commitment by Google to promote the service widely, so that
a greater abundance of questions of all kinds would permit researchers
to select, without prejudicing their income from GA, those questions
for which they feel they have the greatest competence.

4  by a jury of your peers, would you kindly nominate your choice for
best researcher in the following categories (or any specific field you
choose)

I’m slightly wary of this, firstly because every day I notice good
answers by researchers whose names have so far been unknown to me, and
secondly, because there are so many researcher colleagues I admire
that it seems inviduous to select out some and not others.
  
Arts and Entertainment     
Who else but pinkfreud-ga, with her inexhaustible store of music,
movie and book trivia, and her wicked sense of humour

Reference, Education and News   
In my usual bolshie way, I’ve worked up the categories from the
bottom.  Since I already have another nomination for Miscellaneous and
also for Computers, I want to put all-round star aceresearcher-ga here
(and, ace, I’ll never forget that triple effort with you and leli-ga
on translating those web pages out of Rumanian!!!)

Business and Money 
It must be guillermo-ga for tackling the difficult questions everyone
else avoids.
    
Relationships and Society   
Bit too much of a mish-mash section for an easy nomination. I liked
hummer-ga’s answer about hypersensitivity to noises of other people
eating.

Computers
tar_heel-v-ga has many contented customers in this category

Science   
Like missy-ga, I also hope I will not be accused of hubris if I
nominate myself for the bio side. I do pride myself on providing
solid, detailed and understandable answers, based on a critical
reading of credible information sources and reflecting the current
consensus of the scientific community.
I notice that hedgie-ga has a significant number of satisfied
customers in the physics section.

Family and Home
missy-ga – not just cooking, but also hair-care :) :) :)
     
Sports and Recreation   
No comment, since I tend not to follow these questions very much

Health     
kevinmd-ga, who treats his “virtual patients” with respect and
compassion, and provides detailed clarifications – qualities sorely
missing in much of the medical profession

Additonal categories: 
History
digsalot-ga and scriptor-ga – I delight when I see an answer from
either of these, and eagerly lap up every word. It was impossible to
limit the nomination to just one.

Genealogy
scriptor-ga, who has made this area a particular speciality of his

Mathematics
mathtalk-ga even though I can’t understand a word of his answers (my
deficiency, MT, not yours!!!!!), since the response of his customers
shows how prized his answers are

Miscellaneous   
luciaphile-ga for the dogged persistence with which she unearths
answers for blustreak

please nominate your favorite customer(s)

tom136-ga, who directed a second question specifically at me, because
he felt my answer to a previous question was worth more than he had
offered

darnko-ga, who rectified an inadvertent misjustice

johnfrommelbourne-ga and magnesium-ga, self-proclaimed defenders of GA
researchers

susankara-ga for a tip that exceeded my wildest dreams

probonopublico-ga, for fun questions, even though I’m convinced that
he is a reincarnation of Kurt Jahnke

1.  Regarding areas of expertise and interest, as others have noted, I
have a knack for finding obscure movies, books, and songs.
 
2.  I spend about ten hours a day, seven days a week, cruising Google
Answers in search of answerable questions. Unfortunately, the search
for questions occupies a great deal more of my time than the search
for answers, and there's no revenue associated with the former. If you
direct a question to me, I would estimate that I'll be likely to
respond within two hours, unless I am asleep at the time the question
is posted.
 
3.  The best thing I can think of to improve Google Answers is to
expose it to the world. Feature GA on the Today Show. Send a writeup
to Newsweek. Put me on Letterman to make affectionate wisecracks about
GA.
 
4.  Off the top of my head, here are a few nominations for
"Outstanding Researcher":
     
     Arts and Entertainment  - bobbie7
     Reference, Education and News - juggler   
     Business and Money - larre 
     Relationships and Society - sublime1
     Computers - secret901   
     Science -  mathtalk
     Family and Home - missy
     Sports and Recreation - thx1138
     Health - voila     
     Miscellaneous - knowledge_seeker

     (I can think of dozens of other truly remarkable GARs, so the
omission of a name from my list above indicates nothing except my
forgetfulness.)

5.  A dozen favorite customers:

     anonymous777
     apteryx
     badabing
     beauregard
     calamityjane
     lizardnation
     loufillinger
     markabe
     nronronronro
     pendleton
     probonopublico
     qpet

Thanks for the mind-tickling questions, Granny. You'd be number one on
my list of favorite customers, if you'd only dropped the first 'b from
your name. I think 'adabing-ga' has a rather classy sound to it, too.
;-)

~Pink

Here goes...

1. My areas of expertise are somewhat wide and varied. I have been
working with computers for around 14 years - half of that
professionally in a variety of roles. I have a strong interest in
computers in a general non-technical sense also - the way we relate to
them and the way they have developed with us. I spent two years
providing the technical perspective on a computer-related talkback
radio show, this provided a very interesting pespective on the way
people relate to their computers. I have been a freelance writer and
also worked in public relations. I have been a graphic designer for
print and web. I have been a web designer and web applications
programmer. Now, I am a film and television student. I have a very
strong interest in these fields, specifically with relation to the
technicalities of them.

2. I work on this service in my spare time (which due to study and
work commmitments is quite small at present). I am normally able to
reply to anything demanding my attention within 24 hours. I am also in
a different timezone to most GA users - GMT+1300 (or GMT+1200 in about
three days -- bye bye daylight savings)

3. I am thinking long and hard about this question - and I can't come
up with anything - that's not to say that there isn't one, just that I
can't come up with hust one thing that I think is important above all
others.

4. I haven't had time enough in the past few months to read other
researchers' answers, so I can't really name names... Researchers who
have always stood out to me, not in any specific fields are:
mathtalk-ga, pinkfreud-ga, tisme-ga, sublime1-ga, scriptor-ga and many
others - they are just the ones that spring to mind immediately.

My answer isn't as complete as some you have recieved, but then again,
I am not as prolific a researcher :)

Okay, granny, you've won me over (as usual) with your rhetoric,
so here goes...

1) Self-assessment

-Psychology & Human Potential - having spent 20+ years working in 
 mental health and studying metaphysics/personal growth on the side.

-Musical Composition - having played piano, guitar, flute and 
 keyboard (by ear) for most of my life.

-Fixing things - having a talent for the fearless taking of things
 apart and putting them back together better than they were. This
 was augmented by being a Lead Electronics Tech in the Navy, with
 a radar specialty. This also includes computers, having taught
 myself how to build and troubleshoot them from the ground up.

-Everything and anything - Google was my homepage long before GA,
 simply because it truly fulfills the MS question "Where do you 
 want to go today?", and I love exploring "what's out there", to
 borrow a phrase from Star Trek. Consequently, any question which
 leads me into learning something interesting is one I'll research
 with passion.

2) Schedule & availability

GA is part-time for me, since I'm on call working in a honey
distribution business 5 days a week; am the Association President
and Resident Manager for the condos where I live; teach a beginner
to intermediate computer class at a community center nearby; do
in-home computer consulting on occasion; and am involved in the 
delivery of the Avatar course in the dynamics of consciousness.
Nonetheless, I check into GA first thing every morning, and, since
I can get up later than the average bear, I'm able to stay up quite
late if the need arises, and I average one weekday off every week,
which I can often devote to GA (when it's not tax season...grrr).

3) Betterment of GA

Increased exposure, though I'm not sure the GA servers are ready.

4) Best researcher in categories

I don't tend to notice what categories researchers excel in, only
that they excel, and I'm *really* not excited about listing my 
favorites since I *know* I'd leave out someone very special.
Suffice it to say that all the names thus far mentioned by others
are included in my favorites, and would likely exceed expectations
no matter what the topic researched. For that matter, there are
not-yet-researchers who've earned my respect, such as sldreamer-ga.

5) Favorite customers

As above:
I'm *really* not excited about listing my favorites since I *know*
I'd leave out someone very special. Suffice it to say that all the
names thus far mentioned by others are included in my favorites.

sublime1-ga

granny...

OK, lest they feel left out, I have to add:

5) Favorite customers

brudenell-ga
gan-ga
headsetsdotcom-ga

By the kind words posted.

Many thanks.

Thank you, tehuti, for mentioning me as a good customer. Unfortunately
I have to decline the nomination, since I have (thus far) been too
much of a cheapskate to actually ask any questions. ;)

Donno about the rest of the things (I don't think I am an expert of
something... he he) but my favourite customer is, without any doubt,
my adoptive gran.

When I first saw this experiment I intended to opt out.  In principle
I agree with sublime1 that the primary expertise of researchers is
researching; I consider myself capable of furnishing well-researched
answers in a wide variety of categories.

I am a relatively new researcher; I have been with Google Answers
since last May but have only recently begun to actively seek out
questions.  Therefore I have decided to answer the questions in your
survey in hopes that I will become more known to the community and
especially to you, a customer who has several stated interests which
overlap my primary expertise.  I don't want to miss out on certain
questions that I can best answer in a system where many customers will
tend to request certain researchers!  That being said, let the
horn-tooting commence.

1) My first area of expertise is language, so don't give all your
questions to juggler :).  Specifically, I am very interested in the
etymology of words, phrases, personal names, and placenames.  I am
currently writing a book on the etymology of placenames.  Other than
English, my native language, I can read French, Spanish, Italian,
Latin, and Arabic with high fluency, and am able to transliterate to
and from five non-Roman alphabets (Cyrillic, Greek, Arabic, Hebrew,
and Devanagari/Sanskrit).  I am currently learning Mandarin and know
approximately 100 characters.  More important than my language
knowledge is my ability to research in the field.  I am affiliated
with a major research university in New York City and have access to
the OED online, as well as several other reference sources.  On my
shelf at home I have dictionaries for many languages, and I live 5
blocks from a university library which has everything which I do not. 
Furthermore, for ease, I am familiar with all the best online language
references, several of which (especially for East Asian Languages)
exceed the ease and often exceed the quality of paper dictionaries. 
My language knowledge also helps me find other information on
non-English and non-Roman script websites.

My non language fields of expertise are geography and history, for
which I have extensive base knowledge and many close by references. 
My main knowledge in history is in the ancient, medieval, and early
modern periods - I generally refrain from answering anything beyond
1783 unless it is non-Western history - and in Europe, the Middle
East, South Asia, China, and the pre-Columbian Americas.  My most
specific expertise is in migration and diaspora studies, so if you
have any questions on historical or current human migrations, please
send them my way :).  I am also interested in those questions of
esoteric customs and philosophies and in the theology of various
religions.  I am a news hound and spend much time at both Google News
and the BBC.  Outside of the social sciences, my interest and
expertise is in that most geographic of sciences: astronomy.  And yes,
I am a generalist too, but I think we all are.

2)  I would like to be a full time employee of Google Answers if such
a thing were currently possible.  Right now though, I can only repeat
others' concerns.  It remains a beta with an uncertain future and
currently has too few questions (especially in my favorite categories)
for the number of hired researchers.  I am, however, a full time
student.  I am frequently doing research for my own papers and books,
and when I take a break, am usually helping others do the same thing. 
I always welcome the opportunity to research for strangers and for a
source of income.  If you direct a question to me, it will get
answered quickly.  Since the beginning of this week, I have always had
Google Answers open when I am at my computer (the vast majority of the
time as a student and writer) and continue to do so.  If I can answer
the question with my home references, I will answer it in the shortest
amount of time that it takes to provide a quality answer that is worth
your money.  If the question requires further research at the library,
well, the same thing, except that it will take a bit longer.

3)  Difficult question here.  I'll take the easy route and agree with
missy's excellent answer on customer service.  A very satisfied
consumer base would be one of the best ways to get GA out of beta and
get it much deserved exposure.

4) I wish I had been paying enough attention to GA before this weekend
in order to be able to answer this question.  I have seen a number of
excellent answers and were impressed this weekend by the answers of
missy, websearcher, and especially juggler (though I am *very* jealous
he got to the Hagia Sophia runes before I did!).  I hope I can be
better friendly competition in the future :).

Hi Granny, 

What a charming idea. 
I'm not sure if I'll have time to give you a full answer...but let me try
to answer at least part of your question. 


1.  take a critical assessment of yourself (you know, the one only a 
mother can give) and tell me what your areas of **expertise** and 
interest are.  

I know taxes inside and out. And the stuff I don't know - I know 
that I don't know - so won't tackle. 
Being an incorrigible bookworm, I know lots about an odd array
of things. Being a good listener, I know even more about other
things - and I don't realize it until I see a question that strikes
my fancy. 

Having lots of business experience, in many industries, I know little
marketing tricks that most people would never realize were possible. 
But, I've learned from clients' and friends' experiences.  

2.  tell me if you work for this service full-time and how long I can 
expect to wait if I direct a question to you (generally speaking). 
 
I do this part-time. In the outside world, I am a full-time tax
consultant and problem resolution expert. And a part-time editor, 
writer, moderator and columnist on taxes, marketing, Internet 
issues and affiliate programs. 

3.  if you could name just one *constructive* item towards the 
betterment of this service, what would it be? 

I would love to be able to sort the questions by status. When we
try to help out Google by answering the unanswered questions, ALL
the  questions in the category appear - even the ones that have 
already been answered or closed. I find myself spending a half hour
or more trying to find questions that have been overlooked. 

Showing the questions by when they were most recently accessed
or commented upon doesn't help. I'd like to see them shown by
'OPEN' 'days left before expiration'

4.  by a jury of your peers, would you kindly nominate your choice for 
best researcher in the following categories (or any specific field you 
choose): 

ah...that would take time. Let me come back to that during your
open 3 days. There are so many really good researchers, it's hard
to choose off the top of my head.

Got to run now....it's getting late. 

Keep up the good queries. 

Your TaxMama-ga

Hey, surajambar!
Why don't you come and meet some of us over at webadept's researcher
forum?  Details on how to access it are in the researcher newsletters.
See you there?

Gee Missy, thanks much  for very nice comments on my ettiquette and
interaction with you as a customer; you have made my day somewhat. I
would have said similar things about you as researcher especially on
cooking type questions as you yourself have said but I would have
thought you were pretty good if not excellent on general questions
also. You are right about Pinkfrued also who like the other long
termers I have been interacting with at times has provided some
excellent responses to some of my strange and sometime unorthodox
questions.

 John ( Sweetheart) from Melbourne

 john from Melbourne

Interesting question, Gran...though in recent months, when I've not
had much time to answer questions, I've gotten to know my colleagues
more from researcher forum interaction than by reading their answers. 
It's been terribly interesting...we have a uniquely interesting group
of people here.

As for myself, I'm a generalist by personality and (to a lesser
extent) conviction.  I have a deeper knowledge of some fields than
others, but have refrained from pursuing any one kind of knowledge to
the (near) exclusion of others.  A friend once described me as "a
curiosity on legs" after watching me spend an hour on my stomach,
absorbed in the doings of some ants.  That's about right.

What I appreciate about GA is the opportunity to learn new things.  I
take on some questions because I'm knowledgeable about the subject
matter, but a lot of the time I'm just looking for something
interesting to learn about.  Then I share that with the customer.

I do consider myself to have a "strong for a layperson" understanding
of history, the art world, certain branches of literature and music,
cooking (natch) and Canadiana in all its manifestations.  Having said
that, though, my curiosity might be piqued on a given day by anything
from gardening to nanotechnology to neurology to theology to the
intricacies of major-ship repair (my window overlooks a shipyard).

As for favourite researchers and customers, I can't think of anything
that hasn't already been said.  Some customers have given me a degree
of unintended amusement, but it would be impolitic (and rude) to point
at any of them.

-Chromedome (aka Yul)

Great question granny.  Though I'm always amused by your experiments,
I think you've outdone yourself this time.  I enjoy reading through
the questions in the Science category (particularly the Physics, Math,
and Astronomy subcategories), and am often struck by the impression
that where one researcher provided an adequate but uninspired, or
sometimes even a poor answer, another could have provided a better
response with less effort.  I may well refer back to the comments
posted here when I eventually ask a question in one of the categories
other than Science, so that I can direct my inquiry appropriately. 
So, thanks for asking the question.

By the way, my pick for best researcher in Science would be
mathtalk-ga.  Impeccable answers, put together with a lot of care.

I hate to be negative, or worse yet insulting, but I noticed that
tehuti-ga mentioned hedgie's satisfied customers in the Physics
department.  I feel I need to say something, because I don't think
people should be directed to hedgie with physics questions.  I'm sure
(s)he has other strong areas (computers for example) but many of
hedgie's answers to physics questions are not very good.

Gotta go.

Hi, I've been "out of service" for a while, too busy with my 1800 km
moving. But now that I'm coming back, I really don't want to stay out
of this project.

1. My area of expertise? I really don't know if I have any that I
could apply for researching. I'm a Social Psychologist, specialized in
organizational psychology, and I don't remember having answered any
question related to that field. Besides that, I'm capable to
understand the nature of a problem -in several fields- and find the
solution by working methodically on it. Areas of interest? Music,
movies, literature, non-for-profit organizations, social development
are some of them, but I haven't answered many questions I'd consider
related to my areas of interest, either.
2. I'm not working full-time for GA yet, but I probably will in the
short term. Anyway, most of the time I'd be able to take a question
directly addressed to me within the day.
3. To improve the service, once while working for one of those very
complex questions that I can't help falling in, I said to myself "I
should have built a team for this one". So I thought that there should
be a feature to share the question with one or more researchers, who
could distribute the work, and once the answer was posted, all of them
would be rewarded with a proportional part of the pay.
4. I'm not that familiar with the work of my fellow researchers to
give an opinion for each category. In general terms, there are quite a
few whose work I admire and learn from. First names coming to my mind:
Missy, Pinkfreud, Larre, Knoledgeseeker, Chromedome, Tehuti, Scriptor,
Bobbie7, and there are others that just didn't show up right now, but
not less admired. But I couldn't tell what area each of them is better
in.
5. Most customers I’ve worked for have been really nice and
appreciative of my work. But I must admit that Flash-ga has been
outstanding for his highly respectful way of communication, as much as
for the recognition of the researchers work.

Thanks a lot for this very interesting experiment!

Guillermo

I surf Google Answers, and have been impressed by the thoroughness and
up-to-date knowledge of:

robertskelton-ga 

j_philipp-ga 

easterangel-ga 

willie-ga

kutsavi-ga

knowledgeseeker-ga,


as well as the researchers already mentioned.

The list is in no particular order, apart from the first name, as I
particularly enjoy reading his answers on search engines.

best wishes, intotravel-ga.


By the way, another useful productive way to spend time is trying to
'guess' the identities of the researchers. I've found two of the above
through google searches, plus tehuti, taxmama and missy.

Also, knowledge_seeker-ga 

Witness here,

http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=61387,

the startlingly comprehensive $1,000-upward reply given for $20.

Also, knowledge_seeker-ga 

Witness here,

http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=61387,

the startlingly comprehensive reply given on "how to promote tourism in a city".

Hey Granny :)

I know this question is now closed but, like guillermo-ga, I've been
"out of service" for a while, and just wanted to say that I'm sorry
that I missed this one as it looks like everyone had great fun.

I am now back on the block and looking forward to being able to
participate in your next grand experiment :)

:) jem-ga

Hello guillermo-ga,

Here is a suggestion re. your above read "  while working for one of
those very complex questions that I can't help falling in, I said to
myself "I should have built a team for this one"...with one or more
researchers  ".

The to-be-answered question could be locked then you could even post 
team-building question/s asking for  useful  comments, further
question locking and negotiations between team members.
Payments between team members could be done through posted personal
questions.
 
I thought  it would be a good idea to allow the involvement off all
commenters through questions like: "If a commenter can help me with
this and this  then helpful commenter/s will be rewarded by me -- in
case i will be the  answerer of this question-- through GA  if... ".
Interested commenter then could leave a comment or post a question to
researcher --but payments would need GA's help.

Wish I'd seen this one earlier!