What's the logic behind using Mahalo Answers to ask questions that can be answered by a simple search-engine blip?

I think that there are 4 things going on. First and foremost, Mahalo is a "Human Powered Search Engine". Mahalo Answers is a complimentary product that I suspect came about as a simple method to facilitate the need that many users have to obtain specific information on a SERP (search engine result page).

With this in mind: 1) Asking questions with relevant keywords will attract traffic. Mahalo Answers is regularly indexed by a good number of search engines and other bots. So when someone asks a question such as "Who plays X in Y movie?" it could be that the question was designed to attract traffic from people searching other Search Engines (like google).

I think that this is a really great strategy. Not only does this help Mahalo grow, but the answers to these questions are usually quick and accurate. This means that the person who was refereed from another site (like google) finds what they were looking for and more importantly, finds out that Mahalo Answers is wicked awesome.

2) Some folks want to contribute their M$ back into the system. For whatever reason, some people choose not to withdraw their funds or contribute a percentage of their earnings back into the community. Importantly, Mahalo employees can not withdraw their tips so 100% of the funds they receive eventually find their way back into the system.

@jasoncalacanis has mentioned that it would be "nice" if folks contributed 10-20% of their earnings back into the system to help out and has even declared 20% (i think) as the minimum level that a Black Belt must contribute to progress levels. Personally, I don't consciously contribute to the system. However, when I ask a question, I tip each and every person who responds and I tip newer users frequently to help convince them that again, Mahalo Answers is wicked awesome.

3) I think that some people simply want an accurate, fast answer. Google is very good at categorizing and indexing online content. However, in order to find specific, clear and well supported content, you must wade through sometimes hundreds of pages to find answers.

Some people simply aren't good at searching. I've noticed that generally, folks over 40 don't "skim and hunt" the same way that people who have grown up with the Internet do. Some people also want their findings validated.

I've found that with a good number of easy questions, the asker knows the answer. More than the answer itself, the asker is either looking for their answer to be verified or they need additional sources to support their findings.4) Short E-Mail|e-mail, Twitter|twitter, and Facebook|facebook questions are unique in all of this.It's possible that these questions come from a person who does not have full, fast access to the Internet but they need a clear, fast answer. I think that these quick questions are very important.

I know from first hand experience that asking "how do I get here" or "where is the bywood market" type of questions and answers are invaluable.0) So, there are a number of reasons why we see apparently trivial questions. Personally, I don't treat any of them as trivial and when I have time to answer these sorts of questions, I try my best to provide a strong, clear answer. I hope that this helps you figure this Mahalo Answers side effect out!

RB : http://www.twitter.com/AR_RobBrown.

I think one possible rationale is, "OK, I can type this into Mahalo Answers and then Mahalo will pay someone else $M to look it up for me. " Lets say I want to know "who won the XXX on YYY. " I can't possibly know how long it will take me to find that information on Google, even though it is a simple enough question.

I may have to wade through ads, sites that require sign-up, or old pages with similar but incorrect info, or it could be the first result. It may take 1 minute, 10 minutes, or an hour to find this information. Here is a hypothetical situation using myself: By asking a question on Mahalo, (currently) Mahalo funds the question.

Mahalo pays someone else to research a question for me, and the opportunity cost for someone else may be lower than it is for me. I am willing to search for a minute or two, but if I have to look longer than that, I can't afford the time. Someone else may be willing to search for more than 1 minute for M$1, and therefore their opportunity cost is lower than mine.

But what is more insane is Mahalo will pay on my behalf for these easy questions (personally, I try to offer tips from my own stash for any "interesting" question). So currently, for better or for worse, Mahalo will pay someone else for any basic questions I may have, and this eliminates all real and opportunity costs on my side. The incentive is there for people to ask anything they'd like, regardless of how easy it is to find the information, because it is free for them and beneficial to someone else.

Considering differences between people's knowledge and need, Mahalo can help people who don't know how to search for topics, as there is lots of people out there REALLY don't know how to search! Something else is when you are asking by mobile phone -for-example- maybe you can not open pages or Google for what you need to know! When Mahalo grow more you will find how it's powerful and helpful!

Specially if you got so many answers for your question! What I think is that Mahalo Team is activating and promoting the website sometimes by posting some easy to answer Question! So this is the right way to grow the community and make it good place to earn money.. so I think this should lead all Mahalo new members to practice in the coming time, as latter we will not have a chance to earn like these days when the Mahalo grow more!

For a few people, I will say it's purely for stat boosting. For others, I will agree with robbrown and say that the questions are there to attract people searching for that subject.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.