Crossing Questions with Answers (ideaLab!)

Rohit Khare (khare@mci.net)
Thu, 5 Jun 1997 11:25:40 -0400


More from the Gross front...

If only answers.com worked, then you could cross it with this to form a
*real* idea market, something as vital as a stock exchange, with bidders of
questions and sellers of answers.

My hunch is that the long-term value of this franchise may be in
*low-quality* intellectual property: goal is to "make a market" amongst the
legions of USENET-style FAQ authors -- millions of questioners, thousands
of answerers, house takes a cut.

It's not "silicon valley startup guide for $200", it's "what kind of SIMMS
can expand a LaserWriter II ntx?" for 50 cents. A few Mac weenies would
kill to knock down these questions at 40 cents per minute (and cacheable
reuse!).

Or my problem of the day, "what's up with solid-state 'smart disks'?" for
$2.

Rohit

PS. also a profile from yesterday's WSJ

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