August 2012
8 posts
7 tags
Ask.com Acquires About.com – Why This is Huge
As reported Sunday, Ask will purchase the About Company from the New York Times, a top 20 US Internet property whose assets include 3 million handcrafted articles from nearly 1000 subject matter experts.
This is an incredibly positive move for both parties, and here’s why:
I’ll start with Ask. Since shifting away from algorithmic web search and re-focusing on Q&A back in the summer of 2010,...
4 tags
Tackling the Post-Vacay Workload
Ask’s very own, Lisa Kavanaugh talks vacation recovery in Fast Company! How do you get back into the swing of things after a vacation?
- Suraya Akbarzad, Ask.com
3 tags
Who Are the People in Your Neighborhood?
When my office phone rang late in the day last month, I answered it and was greeted on the other end by Doris, calling from Knoxville, Tennessee. However, this was not a courtesy call. Doris got right to the point.
“You have to give me my money back,” she said. “All of it.”
It seems Doris had posted a question about how to list items for sale on eBay, paid her money, and then received no helpful...
8 tags
SXSW or Bust!
SXSW PanelPicker is now open and we’d love your help in getting Ask.com on stage in Austin! This year we have some really great speaker ideas coming from Ask CTO Lisa Kavanaugh; Robbie Waeschenfelder, Director of Marketing; Matt Binkowski, Sr. Director, UX Design, Strategy, & Execution; and Valerie Combs, VP of Communications.
While speakers are determined partly by SXSW judges, a large...
3 tags
Happy Askers at Happy Hour
Ask CTO, Lisa Kavanaugh led the charge for an impromptu happy hour at District Oakland last night. A great time was had by all as we celebrated another great work week. Good food, good drink and most importantly, a great team!
P.S. – we’re always looking for new members to join the Ask.com team ;)
- Suraya Akbarzad, Ask.com
6 tags
Social Content: One Size Doesn’t Fit All
Yesterday I was at the Badgeville Engage 2012 Summit and spoke on the “Intersection of Social and Gamification” panel with Jodee Rich, CEO, Peoplebrowsr and Matthew Price, Product lead at Bazaarvoice. As you can imagine, there was a lot of discussion around how to engage users and which social platforms companies should focus on. The answer – it’s about finding the right combination of the right...
5 tags
Vacation Matters. Seriously.
PTO is meant to be a time to hit the restart button, shut off the work side of your brain and regroup. If done right, you come back ready to get back to work – bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. There’s just one problem – do you have enough PTO days accrued to take your dream vacation? Will your manager approve the PTO days you had planned for a trip to your hometown? Or will you be forced to...
3 tags
Love (And How To Avoid It)
Both online and off, love is most definitely in the air. So far, my wife and I have been to no fewer than six weddings this spring and summer. Which got me thinking - Mrs. McKirdy and I have now been happily married nearly 12 years. What’s the secret? I decided to put that question to our Q&A Community. Love, trust and honesty came up several times, along with shared experiences of a few...
