Kelly Clark Shirley Lew Rana Shaskin Richmond Public Library

Internet answers now come with a human touch

The Web is catching on to what Ann Landers has known for years: people like receiving personalized answers to their questions. As the Web often does, it has taken a good idea and made it bigger, better and more convenient. And unlike Ann Landers, almost every question is guaranteed an answer!

Known as 'ask an expert' sites, they comprise a new and growing Web trend where anyone can submit a question on just about any topic and get a response from a real person who claims to be an expert in that field.

Allexperts.com (www.allexperts.com) claims to be the oldest and largest free advice service on the Internet. It has recruited a legion of volunteers who answer questions in areas as diverse as car repair, taxes, religion and even pet parrots - all for free and within a reasonable time frame (allexperts.com guarantees answers within 3 days). The success of this site has not gone unnoticed, because you can now add Expertcentral.com, AskMe.com, Knowpost.com to the growing list of popular expert sites.

Not surprisingly, others have also caught on to the appeal of online Q&A. Newer sites are trying to carve a niche in the Internet market by offering slight variations on the same theme. AskAnExpert.com (www.askanexpert.com), for instance targets students, parents and educators with their tagline "the Kid-Friendly Expert Site'. Inforocket.com (www.inforocket.com) has created an online Q&A auction house where questioners submit a question with an offer price and respondents submit a bid to answer. Webhelp.com www.webhelp.com takes customer service one step further with responses in real time.

While ask an expert sites offer a great way to get information, probably a more accurate description is 'ask someone who has an opinion' since there is no sure way of verifying the credentials of these so-called experts. As with anything on the Internet, it is best to proceed with caution. On the other hand, these sites are worth visiting just for the novelty. Where else can you locate a group of people who will willingly listen and respond to your questions and expect nothing in return?

All the more reason to visit Richmond Public Library's newest online service AskUs! (www.rpl.richmond.bc.ca/askus). Our librarians - veterans of the information field - will respond to reference questions online. Take a peek and see what we have to offer!