Friday, February 22, 2008

Ask me a question

I installed a widget called Askablogr. So ask me a question. Look for the widget on the right side of my blog.

My initial reaction is that this widget can help engage readers. Here is how it works.

1. Click on the widget and ask me a question.

2. You have to create an account on the Askablogr site. That may seem like a negative point. However, the members of Askablogr have access to the questions and answers and can mark inappropriate questions. Essentially, askabloger site is a self regulating community.

3. The questions and my answers reside on the Askablogr site, The questions can be posted as a blog article on my page if I give Askablogr access to my blog. I have not done that which is the reason that my first question sits on the Askablogr site: Reader questions: Where did I find out about Askablogr and what role will Askablogr play?

If you want to see an example of a question appearing as a blog post, look at the post, Reader Question: Are there new opportunities in social networking?, on Andrew Chen's blog.

Also, the answer can be sent to the person asking the question via email (there's a checkbox set as a default to send email).

Since there are no feeds coming from the Askablogr site, I have no way to aggregate the questions and answers, I asked Chris DeVore about having future plans for feeds from Askablogr. His answer indicates that incorporating feeds is planned.

Instead of posting each question and answer as a post, I might choose particular questions to post and aggregate the others on my site.

I like the concept of readers asking questions (not just ones associated with posts). But, I have to be convinced over time if this is the right method to do that. How would a comment section not associated with any given post work?

For now, ask me a question through the Askablogr widget. Let's see how this works in practice.

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