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Facebook Questions Are Here
Well, I guess we don’t have to worry about not liking Quora any longer. Because Facebook questions are here!
According to the social platform:
“Questions is designed so that anyone on Facebook can help you find the answer. For example, when you ask a question and your friends answer or follow, their friends can see and answer it, too.
You can get recommendations on restaurants, music, and more!”
So far I’ve seen politics, Mac vs PC, whether or not Facebook should have an unlike button, what you’re doing tonight, innie or outie, and definitely the more they promised. All you have to do is click on “questions” on the left-hand side of your home page and you’ll find more information than you probably ever need.
My newsfeed was overrun with them on Friday afternoon and it was getting quite annoying. But things seemed to have settled down since then.
It’s too early to say whether or not they’ll work, but I can see them as a HUGE market research tool.
For instance, what to know if people will buy your new product? Ask a Facebook question. Want to understand people’s purchase habits? Ask. Want to know how people consume your media? Ask!
The best part? No one can edit your questions and rate an answer. People can add more answers to the poll, but that is the only editing that can happen.
Even though this is one step closer to Facebook achieving Global Domination before me, I think there will be some value in the questions. Assuming, of course, people don’t take advantage and they overrun your newsfeed. And Facebook needs to make it a better user experience. But all-in-all, I think the pros outweigh the cons.
One more thing…does anyone else think this is a HUGE slap in the face of Quora, seeing as their founders came from Facebook?
Knowledge rules!! http://www.spinsucks.com/social-media/facebook-questions-are-here/
for those not enamoured with the spammy nature of this facebook feature and would like it to be gone from their news streams, can i suggest trying the FB Purity browser extension, it has a built in option to hide Facebook Questions, along with a lot of other options for hiding more of Facebooks less popular features. You can try it out here: http://www.fbpurity.com
I think Facebook is going to implode from trying to be all things to all people all the time. Instead of Walmart, I think Facebook is more like a fast food restaurant that has strayed too far from it's core competency of selling burgers. Can you imagine McDonald's to sell sushi? I'm afraid that's the path Facebook is starting to take.
I think Facebook sees an idea that catches on (i.e. Quora) and then tries to duplicate it in its mega universe. Sometimes that makes sense, but the bigger Facebook gets, the less and less I like it.
Also, is it possible that this isn't rolled out for everyone? I'm not seeing this yet.
lauraclick NO! I cannot imagine Mickey D's selling sushi. EW!!
If you go to https://www.facebook.com/questions it'll tell you whether or not they've upgraded you. You can click on the button to add it.
ginidietrich Thanks for the scoop. I had to enable it. I hope I don't regret doing that!
I was able to ask questions on Facebook for months. What's new?
Ari Herzog They rolled out a beta last fall, closed them, worked out some bugs, and rolled them out to everyone last week.
The only problem with Facebook questions is that once we get the answer to the ultimate question, we won't need the platform anymore.
Toilet paper: Over or Under?
KenMueller Over. Duh.
ginidietrich Yesssss! Looks like we don't need the poll. You and I just made the executive decision for the rest of the world. That makes us BOTH brilliant!
KenMueller We are definitely both brilliant. But I still don't like you.
ginidietrich it's ok. You can be a hater. I, however, choose to turn the other cheek and will continue to adore you and cherish these moments we have together.
I am seeing a ton of these come through too. I wasnt sure what it was and I havent had time to look into it yet. Ill check it out tonight. I guess its kinda neat if you are going somewhere or getting ready to buy something, you can see who you know that has been there and done that and ask their opinion. Might get some good feedback...
Marketing Gal I think, for sure, things like restaurants and spas and things like that. And, from a marketing perspective, it'll be helpful to get people's reactions to thinks a company is considering. But I also think it could quickly take over your stream...which isn't so fun.
It just so happens that I know for sure that Facebook makes a TERRIBLE Risotto. So ~ Global Domination is STILL yours to lose. In fact, there's a Facebook question: Will Facebook learn to cook decent Risotto BEFORE ginidietrich's sprint to Global Domination? And, will this happen BEFORE or AFTER DannyBrown finds the Block feature?
Also, @KenMueller ~ I would check YES.
And finally, @HowieSPM - the world does not have nearly enough Chief Aliens. You have my vote.
Sally_G LOL! This is the best comment EVER!
ginidietrich Thank you! On a more serious note - Target is moving into Canada in the near future, having just purchased the stores in our Zellers chain.
I've noticed Target referenced a few times in this Comment stream ~ and wonder what you see as their key competitive strengths that might give some of our Canadian retailers a run for their money?
Our market is quite Diverse and unique in many ways vs yours in the United States. Marshalls plans to splash big in Canada this year too.
Any info you can share on employee and customer benefits to these US retailers would be of great interest to me.
Sally_G I'm not a fan of Marshalls, simply because you have to go in there at least once a week and you have to sort through A LOT of clothes in order to find a good deal. My mom has patience for that. I do not.
Target, though, is...well, wonderful. They have a lot of the big designers create clothing, furniture, linens, dishes, and more for a lower price point. Their stores are clean, aisles are wide, lots of bright light. Some of the stores even have groceries (though I wouldn't buy produce there). It's pretty much one stop shopping for a bit higher price point than WalMart and MUCH nicer.
ginidietrich Sally_G Saw a report today that shows Target cheaper than Walmart on a brand test (35 purchases). Interesting times ahead in the Canadian retail sector...
DannyBrown ginidietrich Other than Walmart - who else should be worried? I noticed that Loblaws Group now has Joe Fresh as an individual Retail Outlet as well as a department in their grocery stores. I popped into their Heartland Centre outlet last Friday and loved their prices and colours - but think their offering as a distinct outlet left a bit to be desired.
Sally_G I don't know who should be worried (I'll let DannyBrown answer that). But I do know you will LOVE Target. I mean, LOVE.
DannyBrown ginidietrich Sally_G This makes me SO happy. I have tried to steer clear of the WM conversation as my blog post today is a bit of a rant on behalf of Betty Dukes, whose case against Walmart goes to the Supreme Court tomorrow. Ah, but I do love Target! It's the only place I go where I run in for detergent and come out with curtains!
MimiMeredith DannyBrown Sally_G And the only place you can get monkeys dancing in their underwear on wrapping paper!
MimiMeredith This sounds like an experience I'm looking forward to. Thank you Mimi!
If that's the ONLY place you can get monkeys dancing in their underwear on wrapping paper ginidietrich MimiMeredith ~ then your market is DEFINITELY different than ours. Goodness, that's a common occurrence in DannyBrown 's neck of the woods. Just ask him ...
Sally_G ginidietrich DannyBrown Well I've never done much shopping in Canada, so I'm not sure how it will compare...but then, I shop at Target all the time here and I've never noticed this unique offering in the wrapping paper selection, so I'm obviously not a very good source for info! The things I learn from Gini Dietrich continue to amaze me. What did I do before I found her? I missed the monkeys in underpants, that's what! Aside from her prowess in the world of all things related to social media and gourmet cooking, Gini knows her monkeys!
Ah, but back to Target, Sally. I'm not nearly as familiar with their employment practices as I am Walmart's, although I believe their benefit packages are fairly generous and they demonstrate a very high level of commitment to community service. I can't wait to hear what you think after you've had your first Target experience!
DannyBrown ginidietrich Sally_G What do Target and Walmart have to do with Canada? We have them down here too. Blimey!
MimiMeredith I shall bring a gift with me, wrapped in said paper, to Vegas.
I'm a little torn whether or not I like the fact that people can see how you answered. On one hand, that's part of the fun and it's certainly great for market research. And it contributes to holding people (somewhat) accountable for their answers. On the other hand, you could end up giving away a lot of personal information. I suppose it's just a matter of cherry-picking which questions you want to answer. But maybe an anonymous option would be nice? Or a setting where only the person asking the question can see who answered?
Despite this conundrum, I'm personally having fun with it!
Whitney Punchak A lot of people have commented on the fact that it's not anonymous, but it's Facebook...nothing is anonymous there! I just won't answer questions that I'm not comfortable telling the world (political or religion, for instance)
I feel like Facebook is just doing to the social media world what Wal-Mart did to mom and pop stores across the country. Gobbling up all that is good in social media, not letting anyone else have a piece of the action.
Garmoe Let's develop the Target of social media!
Some interesting things I learned about Facebook Questions Gini. You can not include a URL in the question. You can also not tag a person or page in you question. If you visit my Facebook page, you'll see why I know.
tamcdonald I totally clicked "who is Gini Dietrich" HAHAHAHA!!
I just asked one on my fan page using the poll feature which, thanks to Gini's insight, allows me to block additional answers. I had seen this feature all over facebook yesterday and today and had no idea how it originated. Once again, Gini shares her wisdom and I'm all the better for it!
MimiMeredith And you have great hair, too!
I think I'm gonna do my own poll over on Facebook on my personal page, not my business page, and go back to elementary school.
Do you like me? Check yes or no.
KenMueller I think that's the second best idea yet (I'm kind of preferential to MimiMeredith question)!!
ginidietrich MimiMeredith but...but...you didn't answer the question!
KenMueller Oh sorry! Can I have a "maybe" box?
ginidietrich No. I just posted my question on Facebook and removed the ability to add other answers. In this case it's a black and white world. Either you like me or you don't. And now I'm gonna find out who the haters are!
Ah...so maybe facebook is the place I should go for feedback on that weighty question...do my social media avatars have to reflect my current hairstyle? Yep...that's pretty much my big, earth moving question of the day.
MimiMeredith I was eating a super hot tamale and choked when I read this. LOL! My vote is yes. And look! You didn't even have to use the FB questions.
Every time I change my hairstyle? Really? Dang it. What about as I gain weight. No wait...don't answer that. ginidietrich
MimiMeredith How often do you change your hairstyle?!
ginidietrich Gosh, according to the Clairol ads of my youth, only my hair dresser knows. This is the first color change in a long time. I'm actually back to my "old" natural color. I really was blond once...which probably explains a lot. I'll roll out the new me when I finally launch the new blog and website...SO much anticipation...I hope you can focus on your work in spite of it!
MimiMeredith If you haven't rolled it out by May, I'll get to see you first!
I used it today as our business page (we sell a food product) asking about a favorite flavor. It was great to get feedback, but people were filling in their own answers, adding products we don't even carry. So it is important to keep an eye on the poll and make sure to add a note about incorrect info. Don't want to confuse users.
EssEEmily This made me laugh out loud, which I suppose isn't very nice of me! I wonder if there is a way to close the poll? Hang on...I'm going to see.
EssEEmily Yep. You can click on "poll options" and then uncheck the box next to "allow anyone to add options."
[...] Facebook Questions? Posted on March 29, 2011 by andrewodom This post was originally written by Gini Dietrich for the Spin Sucks blog. [...]
[...] Gini Dietrich of Arment Dietrich writes about Facebook Questions. [...]