Yahoo!7 Answers Australia

The Brisbane Broncos’ youngest fan?

Tomorrow marks the start of autumn in Australia and for many this is a reason to mourn – however there are those who can’t help but celebrate the end of summer because to them it means one thing… football!

Already the trial matches and pre season games have begun in the lead up to the 2007 AFL, Rugby League and Super 14 Rugby Union competitions. Who will the eventual winners be? Well that’s one of the appeals of sport isn’t it – you can try to predict the results but you never really know what’s going to happen.

When I moved from Perth to Sydney I was totally naïve to the existence of Rugby League, and barely aware of Rugby Union, but over the years I have familiarised myself with the top players of both codes, the terminology, the names of all the teams and some of the history, and I don’t mind taking in a match or two.

While I can appreciate the rugby codes, I am more of an AFL fan, and you can probably guess where my top three loyalties lie. I’ve been lucky enough to watch my two favourite teams win over the past two seasons… who do you think will be premiers this year?

Clea

Photo by vanessapr

How can a user on Yahoo!7 Answers tell that a question titled, “Help!!!!!!!!!!”is really asking for information on how to treat a sick kitten? Another “Help!!…?” question is seeking advice on weight loss.

Whether titling a blog, soliticing help from a friend in conversation or asking a question on Yahoo!7 Answers, it is important to be brief and specific. Phrasing matters for conversation, heated arguments, debates, speeches, and even essays. Without phrasing there is no context, and we see this happening on Answers all the time.

People asking for advice often title their questions with only one or two words or by simply sayingI really need help!”. When questions are phrased like this, how is anyone going to know whether or not they could offer any valuable advice in the form of an answer?

It’s true that question categories help provide some context when browsing through Answers, but seeing numerous poorly phrased questions can be frustrating. It also makes it difficult to share good questions and answers. All over the world the Yahoo! Editors promote interesting and informative Answers content throughout the Yahoo! network – on the and on products like the Yahoo!7 Parenting or the FAMOUS magazine website. However, we can’t feature questions consisting of only one word titles, no matter how excellent the content may be.

Perhaps a better title for this post would be, “Why does phrasing matter when asking questions?” The answer is simple – for clarification and context.

Clea

A very clever Koala!

Today’s featured user hails from Melbourne, where he takes breaks from his final year Bachelor of Science/Engineering studies to spend time on Yahoo!7 Answers. Koala Paradise’s impressive statistics stretch to 63% best answer, which is a great achievement.

Koala Paradise is an avid fan of Answers –

“I spend most of my time in the Science and Mathematics category as I know quite a bit about different sciences. I have been a tutor to secondary students for several years so I understand how difficult it can be when you’re stuck on homework and need a prod in the right direction! I like it when people try to think of new and interesting ways to use existing technologies and aren’t afraid to post their ideas. When I’m not looking around at all things scientific I check out the Education and Reference section to see what ideas people have – very inspiring for an amateur songwriter such as myself, and I can also be found in the Music category as I enjoy playing the piano.”

Koala Paradise stumbled upon Yahoo!7 Answers at the start of 2007 and was taken aback by its size and potential. He is impressed that he can post a question and wait for an expert to answer – but it seems he’s the expert… having helped dozens of students with their chemistry, biology and physics questions since becoming part of the community.

Great effort Koala Paradise – keep it up!

Clea

What a sight! The world’s largest cruise ship in Sydney Harbour

Yahoo!7 Answers has been an absolute hive of activity this week! With the less than forty days to go until Easter we had lots of users asking about the religious traditions of Lent, Ash Wednesday and Shrove Tuesday and some really informative responses.

The focus on international nations’ committment to Iraq also came under the spotlight, with the announcement that the British will soon begin withdrawing troops, with US Vice President Dick Cheney’s visit to Sydney and with the resulting protests! The traffic delays caused by the protestors were the second of the week in Sydney after giant crowds squeezed onto the harbour foreshore to witness the historic passing of the cruise ships Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth 2.

As the Academy Awards draw nearer there have been a number of questions from nominees, film makers and from insiders such as Academy President Sid Ganis worth taking a look at.

And dare I mention Britney? She won’t be looking back on the past few days fondly! Type her name in the Searchbox at the top of the Answers page for absolutely everything you ever wanted to know, and every opinion you could possibly read.

Have a great weekend!

Clea

Ways to find Australian content are marked in red above.

One of the functions I use regularly is the language toggle so that I only see questions posted on the Australian site, rather than all English sites. This is great because it allows us to point you in the right direction of interesting Australian questions, which, being from Australia, you will have more knowledge to answer. You can find this function underneath all the categories on the left side of the page.

Another way is to look at questions in the categories on Australia – there are currently five sub-categories:

• Business & Finance – Taxes – Australia & New Zealand
• Dining Out – Australia & New Zealand
• Local Businesses – Australia & New Zealand
• Sports – Football (Australian)
• Travel – Australia & New Zealand

There are, however, many thousands of questions and answers with Australian relevance scattered amongst the international content – one of the benefits of a product like Answers is its global reach! If you’re looking for something specifically Australian you can always type some keywords in the Searchbox. Use search terms such as ‘Australian’, ‘Sydney’, ‘Queensland’ or even ‘Down Under’. If you want more precision in your search you can go into the Advanced Search. You might just save yourself 5 points if the question has already been asked!

Alana

Cycling where possible is just one way to help the planet

This week Yahoo!7 Answers is featuring a question from Lawrence Bender, the producer of Al Gore’s environmental awareness film An Inconvenient Truth, and it has inspired me to take a browse through the Environment and Ecology category.

Hybrid cars, renewable resources, recycled water, there are so many issues that are being discussed within this category. Concern over the environment is a global issue that is only gaining momentum as more and more people realise the importance and gravity of the situation. Users are turning to Yahoo!7 Answers for ideas on how to save water, what type of car to buy and generally how to reduce their personal impact on the environment.

It is great to see so many people (not just celebrities!) taking the time to ask questions about the environment on Answers. As we learn more about the long term impact of global warming it becomes more and more evident that we need to change our lifestyles to delay some scary possibilities. I am taking baby steps by bringing my own mug to the coffee shop downstairs rather than wasting a paper cup and by riding a bike instead of driving whenever I can… if you want some more ideas on how to be environmentally friendly just ask Answers!

Clea

Britney Spears in 2002, before K-Fed, before the babies and before her worst hair day ever!

Oh Britney! I wonder what the longest she’s been out of the headlines is. The funny thing is that were she anybody else in the celebrity world the fact that she decided to shave her head wouldn’t be such a global news story. But she’s Britney, and we’re all constantly waiting to see what she’ll do next.

Of course her hair removal has sparked hundreds of questions on Yahoo!7 Answers. People want opinions on what drove her to doing it, whether or not she looks any good and they also want to know how much money the clippings are worth. I for one am interested to see what her natural hair colour really is once it starts growing back!

It’s hard to think of anything else that has caught the public’s attention over the past week but there are people thinking about other things – Chinese New Year for one and what gifts to give or what traditions to follow. The Year of the Pig officially started on the weekend, but the celebrations will last at least a week.

But back to celebrity scandal! Actor Ralph Fiennes has gone to ground after being caught getting hot and heavy with a flight attendant on board a plane. The flight attendant subsequently got the sack, but given the opportunity with your celebrity crush would you behave in a similar manner?

Thanks to all celebrities for giving us something to talk about!

Clea

Time for another fabulous featured user!

You could assume that ahotman is so named because he is from Brisbane, which of course at this time of year is very warm. But I think the real reason is that with more than 15,000 points and half the answers he gives chosen as best ahotman is ON FIRE!

This is the lowdown from ahotman himself…

“I have always lived in Brisbane and at the moment I’m studying Civil Engineering at Queensland University of Technology. I have a certificate in metal engineering and have been in the engineering trade for nearly 10 years. Outside of work I am always up for some motocross riding, surfing or nightclubbing. I get a kick out of answering questions on Yahoo!7 Answers because I like to know I’m helping people out.”

Keep an eye out for ahotman in Family and Relationships, Car Audio, Pets, Yahoo! Products and particularly in the Computers and Internet category, where he spends most of his time trying to ease the frustrations of fellow users. What a guy! Have a look at ahotman’s profile to see the many great answers he has given in the ten months he has been a Yahoo!7 Answers member.

ahotman – keep burning through those questions and we’ll see you around!

Clea

P.S Don’t forget – if you’d like to be a featured user or know someone worthy email us – y_answrs_team_au@yahoo.com.au

Global politics have been in the spotlight over the past few days with the sudden and somewhat suprising announcement that after a series of talks with the USA and its neighbouring nations North Korea has agreed to shut down its main nuclear reactor. Lots of Yahoo!7 Answers users feel that while it’s a good decision, more could be done in terms of completely shutting down nuclear activity in the Asian nation.

a number of questions this week. Many people aren’t certain about what this actually means for our cars and for the environment, while others believe 10 percent is nowhere near enough.

One more recent announcement has given us something to look forward to – environmental campaigner Al Gore has followed the lead of UK singer Bob Geldof by announcing a global series of concerts in the name of environmental awareness.

And finally, I can’t resist… here’s one more mushy Valentine’s Day question!

Have a great weekend!

Clea

Do you have a Yahoo!7 360° page or a website of your own that needs a little jazzing up, a bit of extra content? Why not add an Answers badge? You can attach it to your personal web page and it will feature your own questions. Pretty cool hey?

By cutting and pasting a bit of code, you can put your badge on lots of different web sites. All you have to do is go to your “My Q&A” page and click the get a badge link on the bottom right hand corner. We’ve written some easy instructions explaining how to use the new badge and you should be up and running in no time.

We’re really excited about how people will use these badges, so send us a link and show us how it turns out!

Clea