How has Yahoo! Answers impacted your life?

Question

Yahoo! Answers US is celebrating its second year this December, and we wanted to take the opportunity to reflect on how it has impacted each of us. We'd like to share some of these stories with you, and also hear how this question-and-answer community has impacted your life.

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

I have found a hidden talent I never knew I had. I am able to embrace and encourage this new talent within myself whenever I begin a session in Yahoo!Answers. I have a better opinion of my tolerance for others and the opinions that we all have. I am amazed at the amount of empathy within me that I never knew was there. I am astounded by the over abundance of all the different things that I know absolutely NOTHING ABOUT!! This makes me humble and open to new ideas and concepts, giving me a better outlook on the world around me every time I log onto this site. I am confident of my writing abilities and my delivery of a thought or idea to others in a manner that is easily understood and entertaining to read. I use this new self confidence in my every day life, and have found myself engaging with my peers alot more and seeking out more conversations with strangers without my old reservations. I am a good person who can be honest when asked my opinion, when I used to be a passive aggressive, yes man, who feared conflict ,and worse, feared criticism from others. Now, I engage in healthy conflict and resolution without all the insecurity I used to have. This site offers advise, validation, and even cold hard truth, when no one else in your life can. I enjoy the safety this site ensures when you are practicing the act of being blatantly honest to perfect strangers, allowing you to let down your guard and truly explore your inner thoughts and express them, out loud, and sharing those thoughts with other people, sometimes for the very first time. I could then discover how small I am, yet how valued my small little opinion can be. This gave me insight into my stability in my relationships intimately and superfluously . Whenever I am stumped as to what to do, or how to act,or what to say...i just log onto this site and release my inhibitions and air out confusing stresses. Thank you, for all of my new discoveries about me, about the people of this world, and about the power of knowledge.

Asker's Rating:

Asker's Comment:

We appreciated all the answers, and we thank you for taking the time to reflect on Answers' first two years. We loved the honesty and self-reflection in this answer and found it incredibly inspiring. Thanks again for making Answers the vibrant community it is today.

Answer 2

It's addictive and fun. I feel good knowing that I can help in this way. In general it is helpful.

Answer 3

I've made some good friends through Yahoo! Answers and Yahoo! 360 who I can freely talk to and ask for advice.

Answer 4

Yahoo! Answers is my favorite place to get information that I can’t find anywhere else on the Internet. I enjoy getting responses from the diverse Answers community that seems to always have just what I am looking for.

Answer 5

For the most part, I have learned quite a bit. Its a good way to interact through questions and answers. Improving ones knowledge is always a good thing.

Answer 6

It has reinforced my prejudices.

Answer 7

In the 2 years I have been with Yahoo! Answers I have had a lot of “Answers moments” that have reminded me how truly amazing this community can be. People have helped me improve my soccer game, come up with creative new recipes in the kitchen, and even offer home remedies for cold season. I have participated in numerous online communities since chat rooms were all the rage in the 90’s but never have I seen a community that was so driven to help one another. There is a genuine concern for the well being of the fellow Yahoo! Answer community member that is almost like people have known each other their whole lives. This connection is mimicked here on the Answers Team, with people from all over the world connecting to one another to help create and maintain the community we have all come to love.

For me, in particular, Answers has opened a lot of new doors and created opportunity to grow and expand my career, but also given me an opportunity to take chances that I may not have before. I’ve had a chance to get to know not only team members but community members, and work hand in hand to make the community a better place. Whether it is answering emails, tracking down bugs, or even just reading the recent news on the forum I am constantly learning new things and challenging myself. Sure sometimes the late nights at the office catch up to you and we all have our bad days, but when we get a thank you card or email letting us know we helped it makes it all worth it just knowing that we were able to help

Answer 8

Wow, it's been around for 2 years?! Well happy birthday! lol I've been here for a couple months and I love it. It has impacted my life in that I spend way too much time on here!!

But really, I enjoy this site a lot because I find it very helpful and interactive. You can ask and answer a wide variety of questions and will also get responses from people of all walks of life and that is very valuable. It's annoying to receive answers from people who put down others or simply don't answer the question, but you also have the chance to learn from others who give really thoughtful answers. Thanks Y!A :)

Answer 9

I have met some really cool people, I would like to think I might have helped some people out too..But one person I met here ended up being someone very special, and important to me, that I would have never met with out you guys....thanks guys...

Answer 10

It would be very easy to answer this question strictly from the standpoint of someone working on Yahoo! Answers – obviously it has impacted me in that I have a job to go to every morning.

But this would only be half true. The Yahoo! Answers community has shown me that sharing knowledge and experiences with others is something that many people find rewarding – whether they’re helping others find answers to tough questions, or having someone offer a great answer to a question of their own.

The desire to help one another is a glimmer of hope in what can often be perceived as a rather self-centered world full of self-motivated individuals. While we all have a lot of work to do before this community is universally seen as a credible source of information, I’m inspired by this tremendously.

This hope comes from the members of our community who feel compelled to share what they know and what they’ve learned with others – both inside and outside of Yahoo! Answers. I’ve found several helpful questions and answers throughout my time on Yahoo! Answers, ranging from car seat installation tips to gardening insights.

Help from fellow Answerers is one thing, but I frequently run into members of our community who extend their knowledge sharing efforts into the wide reaches of the blogosphere. These individuals dedicate themselves to helping others with very specific interests by either sharing what they know, or finding ways to share what they’ve learned with others. And that’s just it. Helping others is extremely gratifying, and to know that others share this feeling to such an extent that they are motivated beyond mere points, levels, and top contributor badges is extremely impacting.

I’ve included some links to influential blog posts about Yahoo! Answers, I hope you find them inspiring as well.

1) ESL 099 on Yahoo Answers (blog post): http://www.esl-tutor.com/2007/11/esl-099-on-yahoo-answers.html

Does anyone know what ESL 009 means? http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071103101500AArGT9R

2) How to type Portuguese accent marks on a Mac or PC (blog post): http://jeffreyharmon.net/2007/10/21/how-to-type-portuguese-accent-marks-on-a-mac-or-pc/

How do I type Portuguese accents on my American computer? http://answers.yahoo.com/question/?qid=20071020161301AA7MF17

3) Yahoo! Answers Blog: How can library science improve the quality of an answer? http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-d8pH0dcoRKeB12yOcnUQp.9VCFos?p=27342

Can someone tell me a program that sends soccer balls to Kenyan children? http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;?qid=20071009133423AAtIhj2&show=7#profile-info-O3kuweUtaa

Answer 11

It occupies alot of my time. Some say it might even be a job to be on yahoo answer.

I think its a great to get individualized questions answered.

Answer 12

Yahoo Answers has become my second home and first place to get the information that i need in any thing.
even, it has helped me to meet new people.
Happy Birthday Yahoo Answers .. and we are expecting new features from you.

Answer 13

Before I started working on Answers I had not used the product and often cursed when I could not find what I was looking for on regular search. Now I have found that I can get the exact answers I am looking for where regular search falls short. It is great to be an engineer working on this Yahoo! site that I use as a regular user too.

Answer 14

Wow, it eats up a lot of my spare time and sometimes a piece of my workday! (Oops) I might need an intervention...

Answer 15

ok.... O_o
mmm.... it's very interesting site!!!
bye and happy christmas!!

Answer 16

egveryone i write andthat write me are wonderful they have made me feelloved and inportant.i love them all preacher man

Source(s):

god bless everyone on yahoo answers

Answer 17

Yahoo!Answers has introduced me to new amazing knowledge from many people with various different backgrounds everyday. It is a great place where we can contribute to and share with other people around the globe. Thank you very much, Yahoo!

Answer 18

Answers has saved me so much anxiety in the past two years. The most recent example was when I had some new sod put in the backyard. I went home to meet the landscaper to do a last check and pay him, and noticed some potential problems. Before he showed up, I came on Answers to ask the question, and by the time he came 20 mins later, I had three solid answers and knew what questions to ask. It makes me so proud of our community. :)

Answer 19

Yahoo Answers has given yet another reason to procrastinate. Thanks.

Answer 20

helpful and interesting☺

Answer 21

I am in agreement with the positive responders, esp the Staff answerers. It's impacted my life in a very good way.

I've only been on since just before Thanksgiving.

I'm internet challenged, and this is the only place I go on the internet. I actually feel 'safe' here by the structure provided by YA. I'm making amazing connections. I feel I'm part of the global community in a way I never knew possible. And yeah, right now I'm in the addicted stage. Which may or may not go away. But it's not overtaking my life, yet. lol. I appreciate the time and effort it has taken to set up this great place that provides privacy and filters junk mail, etc. I've been helped and I've been of help. The longer I'm on the more I like the choices YA has made for us to be in a secure arena. I don't understand about the suspension part, I know it is a possibility, and I assume there are YA Guideline and Conduct points to back YA actions taken. But I don't know enough to have an informed opinion to share on that.
It certainly feels, to me, that YA is God-inspired. I love the depth and breadth of the wide variety of categories to choose from. And I have gained confidence by asking and receiving answers. Thanks for this question.

Answer 22

It has been edifying!

Answer 23

I've met LOTS of awesome people who are now my friends!!!

Answer 24

It made me feel I'm a helpful, kind and friendly person.

Being a Top Contributor and a Top Answerer is really an overwhelming "award" that has been granted to me. It made me feel that I have helped many people in the Geography section. Some even emailing me and thanking me for helping them. I have even chatted some of my friends that I have met through Yahoo Answers. It made me really sociable.

I don't mind people who email me and ask about homeworks. If I can, why not? Yahoo Answers changed me from an ordinary joe to a brother to all and a trustworthy friend. ;)

Answer 25

There are so many intelligent people who contribute and they are willing to help.
I have formed many friendships here.

Answer 26

Particularly last year, whenever I had a science homework help question that I couldn't find the answer to in my text book, and that my teacher did not explain very well, I would post the question on here, and I'd always get wonderful responses. Yahoo! Answers is a wonderful way to learn, help others, and is a wonderful thing to do when you're bored!

Happy 2nd birthday, Yahoo! Answers.

Answer 27

impacted it like a wisdom tooth

Answer 28

Yahoo! Answers has been a blessing in disguise for me. It has impacted my life in such a deep, positive way that I can't find the words to adequately explain. Thank you Yahoo! Answers! Thank you!

Source(s):

Yahoo! Answers of course

Answer 29

yes itn has helped me learn new things and find answers to mu questions

Answer 30

Ah at last I met the father of all Yamsters! The true one! Impacted my life, well negatively and positively....I'm not sure were the balance would go down.

Answer 31

It is sooooooooooooooo fun, addictive and helpful!!!!!!