The first prize for this weekend’s AnswerThon is worth $1,000 (that’s an Amazon gift certificate to spend on whatever you like). And second prize ain’t too shabby either, at a worth of $500. And did I mention three third place winners will get gift cards worth $250? How many iPod shuffles is that?
So… I hope you’re gearing up for answering the most questions in 48 hours… How, you ask?
Review the contest rulesbefore Saturday so you are clear on how to answer before the time comes; why waste precious contest time to familiarize yourself on how to play?
You can prepare a list of unanswered questions from any category on WikiAnswers in advance that you’d like to answer for the contest. Remember, answers must be at least three sentences long, all of which include relevant content for the answer.
Clear your schedule! Make sure you have the timing right depending on which time zone you’re in. And make sure you leave yourself enough time; there have been quite a few AnswerThons in the past and the veterans know what they are doing. Don’t underestimate the amount of questions you will need answer… We’re talking number of answers ranging in the three to four digits zone!
Just to remind you of the time zone information:
This edition of the WikiAnswers AnswerThon begins at 12:00 am (EST) on Saturday (late Friday night), October 24, 2009. The event ends 48 hours later, at 11:59 pm (EST) on Sunday, October 25, 2009.
Adjust for your time zone! Leave any questions in the comments… And start flexing those intellectual muscles!
It’s summertime, and many of you are planning a wonderful vacation. Some are planning exciting activities not far from home, while others are escaping to a foreign country. When you travel to places where you’re not familiar with the language, it may be challenging to get around. Sarah and Veronique, two dedicated QA team members, have joined forces to help answer: What sentences or words do you need to know when traveling to France?
Bon voyage!!
Do you have more French travel questions? Check out our relevant Q&A categories:
The prizes for this upcoming weekend’s WikiAnswers AnswerThon have been increased! Over 50 prizes will be given out to the WikiAnswers users who can answer the most questions in a 48 hour period over April 25-26.
First, second and third place winners will be chosen separately from two sets of community members — contributors and volunteer Supervisors. From each of these groups:
One FIRST PLACE winner, who answers the most questions in two days, will be crowned our AnswerThon Champion and receive a $500 Amazon gift certificate.
Two SECOND PLACE winners will receive a $200 Amazon gift certificate and a WikiAnswers laptop bag.
Three THIRD PLACE winners will receive a $100 Amazon gift certificate and a WikiAnswers blanket.
Fifty RUNNERS UP (including both contributors and volunteer Supervisors) will receive WikiAnswers t-shirts.
If I were you, I’d start collecting lists of questions to answer and even prep my answers in advance… Then you can seed them during the contest hours.
Remember, answers should be three sentences long, original wording, and proper English spelling and grammar.
Oh, and another tip - have plenty of coffee nearby.
Lately I’ve been reading about “building your blog/reputation/traffic with Q&A.” In fact, in the last few days I’ve read posts from Search Engine Journal, The IT Informer, Swiss Army Librarian, and Baltimore SEO. It’s actually very clever and easy to do, when you think about it. It’s an excellent tool for bloggers, site owners, librarians and professionals to get their names out and build credible reputations in the online universe.
Let’s say I sell jewelry online. On top of just selling jewelry, I actually know my stuff: I know my gemstones, I know my metals, know what works and what doesn’t. I could actually let me knowledge of jewelry do me good.
Here’s how I would go about it:
My Username: I would join WikiAnswers and choose a username that sounds professional but friendly. Something like, JewelryGenius or KnowsJewelry.
My Bio Page: My Bio Page would be the center of my universe on WikiAnswers. It would be the place where I list my experience in the jewelery business, why I’m qualified to answer such questions, what my business is about and how you could contact me. These pages are available to search engines, so make it look good, it’s a reflection on you and your cause. Your Bio Page and contributions are also linked from your username, so when you answer a question or make a change on the site, you are constantly linking other people to your details.
My Watchlist: My Watchlist is an excellent tool for getting new questions answered right away. Add as many categories as you like to your Watchlist, and get notified when those categories are updated with new unanswered questions. I would add the Jewelry category to my Watchlist, for instance. I would also go to My Settings and make sure I’m getting updated with an email when new questions are added to my Watchlist.
Answer questions: Once that’s set up, I could get started answering questions about jewelry. I could go directly to the Jewelry category or do a search for jewelry keywords.
Tip: When you are the first to answer a question, your username will stay linked under the question for all of eternity.
For more information on using WikiAnswers, see the Help Center.
As you know, WikiAnswers is based on the wiki concept (anyone from anywhere can add to or edit answers) and answers are grown collaboratively over time by the community.This is the cool new world of user-generated content – where you are the writer, editor and publisher!
But we’re all human – at least most of us – and we do make mistakes.Come on, you know what I’m talking about.When was the last time you spelled definitely as definately or used their instead of they’re?It happens.
There are also those lurking among us who enjoy nothing better than having a good time at the expense of others. On WikiAnswers, that often comes in the form of posting useless, offensive or inflammatory answers or remarks.
So what happens when you come across a question whose answer leaves little to be desired?
You can edit it directly or Flag for Improvement! This handy new link located on the left in the menu area allows you to mark a Q&A as one that could use some TLC. This is especially useful when you are in a hurry or simply don’t have the knowledge required to improve an answer.
When you click on the link, you are presented with the following pop-up:
You can choose one or more of the options listed and even place a detailed comment as to why you are marking an answer as needing improvement. These flagged Q&As (little outlaws!) can be accessed here or you can Browse by Category and see only those Q&As in a particular topic area.
See something you want to clean up?Simply click on the Q&A, select Improve Answer and make your improvements. When you are done editing, remove the flags and comments related to the changes you made by clicking off the little checked boxes or selecting Edit Flags.
So the next time you come across something questionable or in need of some help, don’t turn a blind eye - remember to Flag for Improvement.
You read that right.
Review the 
