It’s interesting to see how Quora is addressing issues of authority online. I’ve always loved communities like Metafilter, because they straddle the line when it comes to balancing a need for connection with a need for privacy – you reveal only what you want to reveal when you’re asking a question in the ‘ask’ section of the site, AskMe. Authority isn’t always conveyed by a uniform or a position; understanding the people behind the screen names can help convey authority online as well. There are plenty of ways people can be transparent and accountable with their online identities. For transparency, being available on a number of social networks shows not only are you an early adopter, but you’re someone willing to share some personal information about yourself, even if it’s around your interests – food, music, movies, photos, etc. For accountability, being able to contact the person via traditional or social media methods ensures that we can take things offline and into the real world where necessary and where offline makes sense.
How Quora is addressing online authority is by allowing people to vote up or down answers from one another. This version of peer evaluation is handy, but can be abused. It also can mean that the community is more about task solving (‘what is the best answer here?’) rather than task analysis (‘I’ve found something better and here’s why’, ‘here’s a relevant link on the future of this topic’, etc.) – which is valid, but makes me wonder if that’s a more superficial way of having an online community. For various reasons the IxDA (interaction design association) has had some issues around their Web site, and it looks like more people are going to Quora for their design related questions. It’s frustrating because it means yet another venue to have to search for an answer. Another online venue is often a good idea, but it means having to curate and maintain, and this is a complicated issue for me. Something I’d like to explore in a future post in more detail.
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