Quora, LinkedIn or Twitter: Where should you find answers to questions?

Quora is the shiny new tool of the social media age. If you haven’t heard about it, it’s the new Twitter, the new LinkedIn answers, and the better organized Yahoo Answers.

Quora says: ask a question.

So I figured I’d test the answer, using some of the things that Quora is supposed to replace. First, Twitter.

I’ve never really thought of Twitter as a great place to ask questions. But that’s my fault. I post about crazy shit on Twitter, some Arsenal, some Social media, some politics. Rarely one thing. So the community I have there is as fragmented a community as one could have. My expectations on Twitter are often low when I ask a question, and often, the answers fit into that expectation.

I asked: What podcast should I be listening to? (I’ve written before about the ones I love, you can see that here)

The answer (yes, one answer) was: WNYC’s Radio Lab. Which I already love. A lot.

Okay, so what about Quora? Same question, but rejected by Quora. 

This is apparently a survey question, so it was rejected. It’s really about me looking for answers to questions, but this isn’t about me. It’s about getting answers to questions.

So finally, I moved to LinkedIn Answers. LinkedIn Answers has always been the best place to find answers to questions. In the past, I’ve asked questions on LinkedIn, and got the answers immediately. And good answers as well. In this instance, the answers weren’t awesome, which leads me to wonder about the premise of this question. Maybe it’s too broad of a question. Maybe I’m the only guy who geeks out to 30 different podcasts.

So what’s the verdict? I still think LinkedIn is the best place to get answers.

LinkedIn: the best place to show off what you know.

Expertise is something you can prove using social media. The jury is out on whether Quora will be a good avenue for showing off knowledge. In my opinion, LinkedIn with its Expert tag for giving best answers will be a better place to show off expertise. LinkedIn calls me an expert in Web Sites. Go ahead, ask me anything.

So, what do you think? Where’s the best place to ask a question?

Related articles

• What’s with all the hype about Quora? (thesearchagents.com)
• Starting out with Quora: my first impressions (econsultancy.com)