The Official Word of Ask.com

Instagram Photo of the Day Challenge 5/22

Wed, 22 May 2013 14:57:46 -0700

Today’s photo challenge of the day on Instagram was taken right from our Ask.com homepage question of the day. Do you know which is the only human bone without joints?

It’s the hyoid bone, a horseshoe shaped bone that sits in the neck between the chin and thyroid cartilage Like we said, it’s the only bone in the human body without any joints! Instead, it connects to other bones with muscles and ligaments.

It helps with tongue movement and swallowing. The hyoid bone provides attachment to the muscles of the floor of the mouth and the tongue above, the larynx below, and the epiglottis and pharynx behind.

The name is derived from the Greek word hyoeides meaning “shaped like the letter upsilon” (υ).

- Suraya Akbarzad, Ask.com

Sharing Our Rutgers Roots

Wed, 22 May 2013 08:00:35 -0700

I recently received a note from a student at Rutgers University, and I liked it so much that (with Bjorn’s permission) I thought I’d answer him here.

“I noticed that your business all began with Rutgers University. My name is Bjorn Svendsen, I will be a junior this fall at Rutgers University. At the same time, I will be starting my own startup, the Pulse, which will aim to become the central location for events on campus. I wanted to send you an email to ask you if you would have any advice for me starting out at Rutgers, and would like to congratulate you on the success you’ve made out of your Rutgers origins.”

Hi Bjorn,

You’re right; at its inception, Ask Jeeves was located in a dorm room on the Rutgers campus. In the ensuing 17 years, Ask has grown and evolved, was acquired in 2005 by IAC, and now provides answers to more than 100 million monthly users all over the world. The path to our success hasn’t always been easy, but every step has been worthwhile. I could spend all day talking about the many ways, but instead I’ll distill it down to the top three lessons we’ve learned.

1. Be open to what your users tell you.

Whether positive or negative, the users of your products will always let you know how you’re doing. Since these are the people you’re building for, take all feedback to heart. Additionally, keep the channels of communication open all the time, and respond to let your users know that you’re listening.

2. Keep an eye on the competitive landscape.

Every industry has competition, but no industry moves as quickly as the tech sector. The era of app-building has led to an even faster rate of innovation and product ideas hitting the market. If you stay too much inside your own walls, you’ll miss out not only on new ideas, but how users are responding to them. The innovation train won’t wait for innovators to get on board, so stand at the front of the line with your ticket in hand.

3. Don’t get stuck in your ways. Innovate!

Many tech companies have come and gone since the tech sector really took off in the mid-1990’s. The companies still around all have one thing largely in common: they’re not doing the same thing they were doing when they started up. Apple is a great example – it started with personal computers, and then became so innovative in other segments that the word “computer” was dropped from the company name altogether. The first startup I worked for 14 years ago began in the online community content space, and now exists as a provider of moderation services – and there were a few other stops along the way. Ask began as a search engine, and now fills a niche as the most trafficked Q&A site on the web. And we’re not stopping there, either. Stay tuned!

4. Your people are your most important asset.

While your users are the lifeline of your products and company, your employees are the catalyst between product ideas and delivery to the market. Ask knows this, and invests heavily in employee satisfaction with unlimited paid vacation time, a fully stocked kitchen, lots of opportunities for career advancement and company recognition of individual success are just a few of the ways Ask values its employees. Ask has a multitude of employees who have been with the company for more than five years, and some longer than 10 or even 15. These are the people who love to innovate and are always eager to work on the next big thing, and Ask maintains a place where they can do this easily.

I really appreciated your note, Bjorn, and it takes me back to my own college days working on a startup with some other people. Best wishes to you and your team from all of us here at Ask!

- - Eric McKirdy, Worldwide Customer Care and Technical Support Manager, Ask.com

Instagram Photo of the Day Challenge 5/21

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:10:04 -0700

The question of the day on Instagram was for TechTuesday, “When was the first Blackberry (RIM at the time) model released?”

It was fourteen years ago in 1996! The first model was a simple two-way pager with a thumb keypad and thumbwheel for scrolling the monochrome text display. Within a year, the devices were in use by fewer than 400k people and expected two-way wireless messaging services to attract 51 million users by 2002.

They provided email and WAP capabilities with limited HTML access provided by third party software.

Needless to say, Blackberries have come a long way, and remain competitive in the smartphone market.

- Suraya Akbarzad, Ask.com

Instagram Photo of the Day Challenge 5/20/13

Tue, 21 May 2013 08:50:00 -0700

Yesterday’s photo challenge came straight from the Ask homepage’s question of the day! So if you’re a super Ask user, this one should have been no problem. Can you guess what type of car it is? The hint was that it is foreign.

If you guessed Lamborghini…you’re correct!

Manufacturing magnate Ferruccio Lamborghini’s mechanical mind got into tractor manufacturing in 1948, when he founded Lamborghini Trattori, which quickly became an important manufacturer of agricultural equipment in the midst of Italy’s post-war economic reform. He later went on to produce air conditioners until he eventually founded Automobili Ferruccio Lamborghini S.p.A. in 1963 with the objective of producing a refined grand touring car to compete with Ferrari.

The company’s first models were released in the mid-1960s and were noted for their refinement, power and comfort. Lamborghini gained wide acclaim in 1966 for the Miura sports coupé, which established rear mid-engine, rear wheel drive as the standard layout for high-performance cars of the era.

Today the Italian manufacturer of luxury sports cars is part of Volkswagen Group through its subsidiary Audi. Lamborghini’s production facility and headquarters are located in Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy.

- Suraya Akbarzad, Ask.com

A Blast From Our Past

Mon, 20 May 2013 08:01:01 -0700

A few days ago under particularly gorgeous skies, a few dozen intrepid Ask staffers split into groups to take part in a scavenger hunt around downtown Oakland, with the focus being to explore more of our great city. Twenty-four clues awaited each team, and not all were that easy!

Clue number 17 had an unexpected payoff. The clue itself took us to Bittersweet, a chocolate and coffee cafe located on Broadway in the heart of downtown. But beyond the coffee and chocolate, the most delicious discovery was chancing to meet Bittersweet’s owner – none other than Penny Finnie, who was the chief creative officer at Ask Jeeves 20 years ago. In fact, Penny is credited with coming up with the concept of Jeeves, himself!

We could’ve stuck around and visited with Penny the rest of the afternoon, but she had work to do and we had more clues to uncover. The few minutes we had with her were great, though, and all of us plan to go back for another visit soon.

Eric McKirdy, Worldwide Customer Care and Technical Support Manager

Instagram Photo Challenge of The Day 5/17

Fri, 17 May 2013 15:49:43 -0700

Today’s photo challenge of the day was, “Can you guess which movie this is? Better question is…are you seeing it this weekend?”

Of course it’s Star Trek: Into Darkness! Are you ready for the twelfth installment in the Star Trek franchise, and the sequel to 2009’s Star Trek? J. J. Abrams directed this latest episode, and anyone who’s an Abrams fan is excited to see his take on the classic. Not to mention, maybe it’s a preview into what the upcoming Star Wars movies will be.

- Suraya Akbarzad, Ask.com

Went Fishing!

Fri, 17 May 2013 09:58:53 -0700

Yesterday, Ask employees joined the Fishing Derby for Special Kids at Lake Temescal in Oakland, organized by the East Bay Regional Park District for the seventh year in a row!

The EBPD hosts 150 kids with special needs from local elementary schools for a day of fishing, arts and crafts, face painting and games.

Ask employees buddied up with the kids and had an awesome day! Can’t wait until next year!!

- Suraya Akbarzad, Ask.com

Instagram Photo of the Day Challenge 5/16

Thu, 16 May 2013 16:34:44 -0700

It’s another Throwback Thursday photo challenge here on the Ask Instagram. The question today was, “Can you guess who this swingin’ sixties band we’ve been dreamin’ about is?”

Hopefully you picked up on the California Dreamin’ referenced, and guessed The Mamas and The Papas.

The group was together from 1965-168, and briefly reunited in 1971. They released five studio albums, and seventeen singles, six of which made it to the top ten charts. Worldwide, the sold close to 40 million records! Did you know that they were originally called the Magic Circle?

- Suraya Akbarzad, Ask.com

Instagram Photo of the Day Challenge 5/15

Wed, 15 May 2013 16:00:37 -0700

Our photo of the day challenge came from the question of the day over on the ask.com homepage, “What was the first fully computer animated feature film?”

Did the above close up photo give you a hint??

It was Toy Story! Some of you may remember when it came out in 1995, and were hooked, anxiously awaiting Toy Story 2 and 3. It was actually Pixar’s first full feature length film. Pixar, who had been producing short animated films to promote their computers, was approached by Disney to produce a computer-animated feature after the success of the short Tin Toy, which is told from the perspective of a toy. Even though Pixar’s technology has grown leaps and bounds, I think it’s safe to say that Toy Story withstands the test of time.

- Suraya Akbarzad, Ask.com

Instagram Photo of the Day Challenge 5/9/13

Thu, 09 May 2013 15:32:00 -0700

Today’s Throwback Thursday photo challenge of the day was sort of hard, but that’s why it’s called…a challenge!

We asked, “When was this picture taken?” And the hint we gave was that it was related to your laptop.

The answer is 1944. This is a picture of Colossus, the first electric digital computer that was all programmable. The Colossus computers were first used by British intelligence during WWII to decode encrypted telegraphic messages between the German High Command and their scattered European occupancy. Something tells us, this didn’t come with a mouse and keyboard…

- Suraya Akbarzad, Ask.com

Instagram Photo of the Day Challenge 5/8/13

Wed, 08 May 2013 16:21:31 -0700

The question today was, “Can you guess whose famous comedian’s mother this is?”

If you said, Ben Stiller, then you’d be correct!

Ann Meara was funny long before Ben was born. Her and Ben’s father Jerry Stiller (George Costanza’s father on Seinfeld!) were part of the original improv group, The Compass Players, which later went on to become The Second City. In fact, their comedy duo, Stiller and Meara often appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show. Since then, Meara has gone on to play many memorable roles on television. Oh, and she raised Zoolander!

- Suraya Akbarzad, Ask.com

To Cube or Not to Cube? That is the Office Space Question

Tue, 07 May 2013 05:00:00 -0700

You may have heard that Ask has been growing – literally, with awesome new employees (like this one, and more) and a new floor of office space to house our expanding family. So what better time to re-evaluate what makes our office tick each and every work day?

We recently polled our employees about work preferences and habits – what makes our work areas great, not so great, and our daily structure of going to meetings vs. time doing work. Turns out, we’re doing a lot of both.

We found that Ask spends 45 percent of our time in some type of meeting (almost as much as focus time at 47.2 percent), which typically either occurs in a conference room or at a co-worker’s desk. So the majority of our fellow co-workers expressed that they wanted more meeting rooms, collaboration space, and alternative workspaces. Overall, it was clear that we were looking for more places to meet up outside the often disruptive and not-very-private personal desk.

Doing this survey made us curious – do all other Americans work the same way? So we conducted a study with Harris Interactive, which was released today, and the findings gave us a glimpse at what sparks or kills workplace productivity nationwide. The study found that despite 61 percent of respondents claiming that noisy co-workers are the biggest distractions in offices, over one quarter still prefer an “open room” or “newsroom” setting.

Interestingly, our office said the same. And now we’re considering a newsroom setting for our new office design plans for when we officially expand our real estate to the third floor of our building.

We believe every good company listens to its employees to foster good working habits. What makes your work day better?

Learn more about the Harris findings here and a few more interesting workplace habits after the jump!

And be sure to watch out for a fun Instagram contest we’ll be announcing in a couple of weeks, that includes taking a pic of your own personal workspace for a chance to win a few snazzy items for your desk.

- Suraya Akbarzad, Ask.com

Me Time vs. We Time

A vast majority (86%) of U.S. office workers are most productive when they work alone.

But those who live in the West (94%) are more likely to say this than those who live in the South (81%).
Over half (52%) agree they are most productive when they work closely with their co-workers.

Cube vs. Open Style Seating

27% prefer to work in a newsroom setting office (e.g., call center style, open room seating).

And it looks like married people like their space. Those who are single/never married (37%) are more likely to say this than those who are married (21%).

So Many Distractions!

What bugs American office workers the most?

Nearly two thirds (61%) say noisy coworkers are the biggest distractions in offices.
Almost one in five (19%) blame social events (e.g., lunches, birthday celebrations) are the biggest distractions in offices.

19% say water cooler talk are the biggest distractions in offices.
17% say co-workers’ messy workspaces are the biggest distractions in offices.

Instagram Photo of the Day Challenge 5/6/13

Mon, 06 May 2013 16:52:00 -0700

If you started following us on Instagram (@askdotcom) then you already saw this obscure Photo of the Day Challenge. The hint was,”Iron Man may have stolen the box offices this weekend, but can you guess who this other #marvel superhero is?”

Did you guess right?

It was Thor!

Fun fact: Did you know that Thor has 22 aliases?? He can also be known as:

Donald M. Blake, God of Thunder, Son of Odin, the Thunderer, Lord of Asgard, Jake Olson, Sigurd Jarlson, Donar, Donner, Hloriddi, Unhappy Hrungnir’s Playmate, Veur, Hrodr’s Foe-Man, Longbeard’s Son, Vingthor the Hurler, Siegfried, Siegmund, “Woe-King”; impersonated Hercules, Harokin, Freya; formerly bound to Eric Masterson

Be sure to follow us on Instagram to play our Photo of the Day Challenge. You can find all the answers right here at the end of the day.

- Suraya Akbarzad, Ask.com

Hello Instagram!

Mon, 06 May 2013 08:00:00 -0700

In today’s world, everyone knows that photos just aren’t as fun without a filter. We get that, which is why we’re so excited to announce the Ask Instagram account! It’s shiny, new and ready to be filled with photos (artfully filtered, of course) that set out to answer questions none of us knew we had.

Follow Ask on Instagram @askdotcom to play along with our daily “Photo of the Day Challenge” series. We’ll post a super close-up image and leave it up to you to figure out what/who/when/where it is! Leave your best guess in the comments and then check back here on the Ask blog later in the day for the big reveal. We’ll also be running fun contests to participate in, give you guys a chance to win some cool stuff and you’ll even be able to sneak a peak into the official Ask offices from time to time!

So get out your phone, find us on Instagram and come try to figure out our first photo of the day!

- Suraya Akbarzad, Ask.com

Ask's Customer Service Guru Speaks!

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 11:02:25 -0700

You know him from his guest appearances on this blog, but now’s your chance to hear from Ask’s Worldwide Customer Service and Technical Support Manager live! Eric McKirdy will be at the upcoming Customer Service Experience Conference in NYC on Monday August 19th talking about the success of our new customer support portal and our approach to getting customer service right!

- Suraya Akbarzad, Ask.com

Customer Service: Doubling Down in Las Vegas

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 08:00:46 -0700

Many industries throw around terms such as “double down” and “big bet” and “big win” which may be an indication of why so many conferences pick Las Vegas as the location for companies to showcase their bets on their new products, new strategies and of course tout the successes of past wins. It was particularly fitting to spend time in Las Vegas at the Parafest conference focusing on industry trends and best practices in customer experience and support. Gathered together were 400 representatives of B2B and B2C companies as well as industry analysts and customer support product vendors.

My role there was not only to learn a lot (which I did), but also to present Ask’s story of the past year concerning our own efforts in this area. In addition to launching new products last year, we also rolled out a new Help Center to support those products. It was designed with an eye toward self-service, allowing our 100 million users the option to get the information they need at any time without having to wait for an agent to respond.

At the Parafest conference, I discovered the industry has taken notice! During the keynote, Ask’s Help Center was showcased as a trend to watch in 2013, and I fielded a lot of questions throughout the duration on why we’ve done what we’ve done.

The “why” is very simple: to connect our users with answers as quickly as possible, just as we try to do with all of our search products. We’re pleased to have a Help Center that lives up to our values. It’s a big bet which has really paid off!

- Eric McKirdy, Worldwide Customer Care and Technical Support Manager, Ask.com

Ask Talks Applied Improv at SXSW

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 13:05:00 -0700

SXSW Interactive 2013 has officially come to a close and if you weren’t able to make it to Austin, you missed our very own, Lisa Kavanaugh speaking with neuroscience expert, Janet Crawford, on “Why Neanderthals Make Lousy Entrepreneurs”. Did you know that in terms of how it operates our brains haven’t changed much since our Cro-Magnon days. We’re social animals designed to live 10,000 years ago in small tribes, totally dependent on the relationships around us. With biological programming that equates social approval with survival, it’s obvious why so many companies fall into collective groupthink, struggling to surface new and innovative ideas. Simply put: no one wants to look stupid. But there are (unexpected) ways to trick your brain into chilling out enough to coax innovative thinking out from the shadows. The audience helped Janet and Lisa explain how the brain works and how applying improv exercises and techniques to the product development cycle helped us at Ask.com to unlock our best ideas yet.

Think applied improv might help you in your workplace?

- Suraya Akbarzad, Ask.com

And the Winner Is...

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 05:00:00 -0800

As Hollywood preps for the 85^th Annual Academy Awards, Ask.com once again rolled out its red carpet predictions for the night’s biggest winners, as well as the stars Ask users expect to go home empty-handed. But there was one more burning question – how many degrees of separation is there between the nominees and Kevin Bacon?! And you’d be surprised at the connections – check it out:

- Suraya Akbarzad, Ask.com

Don't We All Need a Break Now and Then?

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 13:02:00 -0800

So you’re probably one of those people who spend a lot a time working at your computer – hour after hour….But every now and then, don’t you just want to take a teeny, tiny break? Me too!

Ask just may have the solution for you. Ask.com’s Games section is a mother lode of games you can play right in your browser. But be warned: they’re highly addictive! For ease in browsing through them, we’ve divided them into these categories:

Without admitting to anything - such as how much time I might actually spend playing these games - I’ve found a few that I really like. I thought I’d share my top three with you, starting with one of my favorite things to do - crossword puzzles! We have a few of these in the Word section, but Crazy Crossword is the one I really like.

Next, one of our newest additions to the Action category is Pizza Truck! Several levels of difficulty as you drive a delivery truck loaded with ingredients to Papa’s Pizzeria. I’m still getting the hang of driving the truck over the hills without dumping loads of mozzarella everywhere. It’s hard work keeping customers happy!

And finally, who says games should be mindless? In our Education section is The Brain Game that tests the strength of your brain, and probably helps improve your brain’s recall ability.

There! Lots of things to fill up the rest of your day. (You’re welcome.)

—Eric McKirdy, Ask Support

A Chat With Doug Leeds

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 09:49:00 -0800

Ask recently had the pleasure of hosting USA Today’s Jefferson Graham at our Oakland headquarters for a catch up on all things Ask.com. We chatted about our busy 2012 with the acquisitions of nRelate and About.com, not to mention what you can expect from us in 2013.

Check out more videos and pics from USA Today’s visit, including Doug riding our adult-sized big wheels bike, here.

- Suraya Akbarzad, Ask.com