How do researchers pick from the steady stream of questions that flood
by the main loggin screen for Google Answers.  Do you just have to
hope that something in the title of your question grabs a researcher's
eye?

Is there a way to better “advertise” my questions?  Is there a time
that is most optimal to post.   For a while it seemed like it was
better to post a question on a Friday night, so that it would be fresh
on the weekend, when people had more time, but now I’m not so sure.

I love Google Answers.  The researchers here are the best.  Having
this resource has help my business enormously.  My only regret is that
some of my most in-need-of-getting-answered questions (like “Knowledge
Management Tool needed for small team”) have not be tackled.   I know
this one is not a simple answer, but in my option it is a juicy
question who trail could lead down many fascinating roads.  Plus, it
is worth $70.

Is there an ideal time to post?  Does a catchy title help?   Any other
ideas on how to grab the eye of the one brilliant researcher out there
that can find me my Knowledge Management gem?

Hi sherpaj~

You are asking for an opinion here, so let me offer what is my own
opinion, combined with those of researchers whom I have corresponded
with on the board or through email. First I'll speak generally, then
I'll specifically address your "Knowledge Management" question.

A number of things influence whether or not a researcher can/does
answer your question:

1. Clarity of Question. If a researcher has trouble understanding what
you're asking, it makes it impossible for them to answer your question
accurately. And if they can't answer it accurately, they will usually
not answer at all; we strive for excellence :)  This may seem obvious,
but a great number of questions are imprecisely phrased. Sometimes
even when a customer provides the requested clarification, researchers
can end up scratching their heads.

2. Viability of Question. Is there really an answer to your question?
Sometimes no definitive answer can be given, or sometimes only an
educated opinion can be given. If you're asking such a question, it's
best to be clear that you'll accept either an educated and researched
vague answer offering several viewpoints, a negative answer, or an
educated opinion for an answer. If researchers feel you're looking for
hard facts, but know can give you none, they aren't likely to tackle
your question.

3. Specifics. Be as specific as you can in your question.

4. Price Compared To Work Involved. Some people ask a handful of
questions in one posting and only offer to pay a few dollars; others
ask questions of a large scope and offer very little pay. If you're
asking a question that requires a lot of research, it's important to
offer a reasonable amount for the work. For example, if you're asking
for the approximate value of an antique, but only offer to pay $3,
it's doubtful a researcher will answer your question. Or, for example,
if you want a history done, and you only offer $5, it just isn't going
to attract many researchers. ***Sometimes a question-asker can't know
how much work might go into researching a question****, and that may
be the problem you've recently experienced.

5. Question Is Unanswerable. Sometimes an answer can't be found
online, through telephone inquiries, libraries, etc. Or, sometimes a
FULL answer can't be given.

6. Researcher Interest. I think that most researchers try to choose a
question that interests them.

7. TOS Violation. Some questions clearly violate Google Terms of
Service; researchers are forbidden to answer such questions, or even
hint at an answer to such a question.


It does help somewhat to have a descriptive title...something more
specific than "American History" or "gardening."  I don't think
there's one time of day or week that's better than others for asking
questions. (As for weekend questions, I know a lot of researchers who
only answer questions during the week.) It's doubtful that your
question will get lost under a pile of questions, however. Researchers
view questions from a differently organized section of the website
than question-askers, and it's designed to make that unlikely.

I'm guessing that what you think is probably an easy question, isn't.
Looking at your "Knowledge Management" question, I can see that a
number of researchers have made comments; that almost certainly means
they've done some research on your question, but have either failed to
find what they felt was a complete answer, or found that the question
was going to require a great deal more research than they payment
they'd receive would make worthwhile. The question alone is very long,
taking quite a while to read--which may make some researchers move on
to the next question.

My suggestions are to keep your questions more succinct. Also, I would
suggest leaving your own comments about the researcher comments
already given. If your question hasn't been answered sufficiently, I
would tell the researchers why and how they could be more helpful.

I hope this is helpful to you!
kriswrite

Thanks to kriswrite-ga and all the great commentators for you
responses.  I now have a much better understanding of how these things
work from the researchers end.   On the Knowledge Management question,
I see that I have been negligent and didn’t read the comments (and now
an answer) that were there.  I don’t normally miss these things as I
get automatic reminder emails, but I must have had email problems that
day and missed them.

Particular thanks to pinkfreud-ga for spending time on my Knowledge
Management question.  In a way I kinda feel bad that you put in an
hour and have no compensation to show for it.

I would love it if Google could put in a mechanism where researchers
that invested time but didn’t post an answer could receive some
partial compensation (maybe via an email –based approval from the
question asker).  This would be even more applicable if they posted a
comment that provided not an answer, but a valuable piece of the
puzzle that led someone else to find the answer.  I have seen that
happen a few times with my questions and always felt bad that the guy
at the end of the chain, who put together all the clues from many
comments and found a solution, got the whole reward.

If not a system for monetary compensation, at least let us question
askers provide recognition via some kind of awarding of points.  Maybe
there could be some kind of hall of fame for researchers with the top
points in their area of work. Even an automated system to send a thank
you to particularly helpful commenters (is that a real word?) would be
nice.

Thanks again to all of you for all you help and excellent work.

P.S.  I was delighted to see that Google now has a tip feature!  Now
if only I could tip some of the helpful commenters!

I also have the same feeling. I posted one and did not have any
answer. And it is not a matter of price. Mine is $50, not difficult,
and I saw many for $2 that has fast and complete answers.

This thread may also help you a bit:
https://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=70700

I am in agreement with kriswrite-ga's answer and would like to add one
thing that can be very frustrating to a researcher.  When customers
have already done their own research and fail to inform researchers of
links they found, the customers may become dismayed and rate the
answers low stating "I already found all this, I wanted something
new!"  Some customers think that GA Researchers have access to hidden
databases.  We don't.  We use our search skills to find an answer in
the public domain of the Internet.

So, my advice overall is to remember that researchers are not mind
readers - be specific and complete in asking your question and
documenting any research you have already performed.  If no
clarifications have to be requested by a researcher, the answer will
arrive quickly (providing the info exists on the public Internet).

Thanks for asking this question!

Some questions are considered (and partially researched) by many more
researchers than the customer may be aware of. The "knowledge
management" question, for instance, occupied me for about an hour
before I decided that I would not undertake to answer it. I did not
feel that my work was particularly worthy of mention, so I unlocked
the question without making a comment. Many other researchers may have
done likewise.

It's not that we don't want to work on the question, and in this case
the fee was quite generous. But sometimes a question is of a nebulous
enough nature that researchers may be wary of approaching it. It's
easier to research a question to which there is one, and only one,
correct answer than to undertake a question like the "knowledge
management" one. And it's safer, from the standpoint of researchers
who have sometimes been given low ratings by customers whose needs
they tried, and failed, to meet.

Sometimes taking a long question and condensing it, or breaking into
several smaller questions (with appropriately smaller fees) may help
ensure that some parts of your need will be addressed quickly.

I hope this question will attract new interest in your "knowledge
management" question. Somewhere we are bound to have a researcher
whose mind will be sparked by the challenge, and you'll get the good
and well-prepared answer that you deserve.

Some general suggestions:

Think about the proper category for your question. Some of us with a
particular expertise may go looking in a particular category for
questions to answer. If it's in the wrong place, we're less likely to
see it.

Be as specific as you can. If a geographic area is pertinent, include
that. What exactly are you looking for? There are some very vague
questions out there--if it can't be easily discerned what you're
expecting, your question is less likely to be quickly answered.

Be realistic as to price. If you state you want an exhaustive answer,
you're going to have to assign a higher dollar amount to that
question. Even the simplest question can take an hour or more to
answer--researchers are generally not likely to do several hours worth
of work for $2, whereas they may do that for $50.

Regards,
luciaphile-ga

If there's one thing that the Google Answers format could do to help
customers, it would be to have a counter indicating how many
researchers had looked at a question.  Within an hour of a question
being posted, dozens will have read it and made a decision on whether
or not they could answer it well.

Pinkfreud cited the "Knowledge Management" question.  I'd read it at
least six times; thought about trying to answer it twice.  Having
answered questions about complex KM systems and marketed similar
corporate solutions software, I thought I had a good background. 
There was simply something that made it seem difficult to define --
probably no sense of what "best practices" are in the area of
knowledge management.

Customers, like researchers, get reputations and I can assure you
sherpaj that researchers like working with you.  Should a question
fail to get results, my best suggestion: rephrase it, try again!

Best regards,

Omnivorous-GA

I suggest you look at the following similar question: [
https://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=94993 ]