Yahoo Answers is a community-driven site that allows members to post questions, give answers and select the best response. The responses range from off-topic to excellent, but I've found the community useful on occasions when I required specific directions and advice regarding trip planning and sundry.
Point System
While being a member of Yahoo Answers does not guarantee any form of monetary remuneration, there's always the fun factor and the promise of instant responses. Members are typically given 5 days to solicit answers. You may extend the "expiry" of your query to a week. Every activity corresponds to points:
Levels
The points, when summed up, would then reflect your level. I'm on Level 3 and have plans of moving up the ladder in the future. For a time, I was named a top contributor, but when I returned to the community after a month of inactivity, the title disappeared, hehehe.
Paying Alternatives
Yahoo Answers is a cool place to hang out in on your free time. I like the idea of being a "cheerful giver." If you wish to get paid to answer questions though, try checking out Weegy and Microworkers. They pay you an average of 20 cents per response. Not bad, huh?
Caveat for Bloggers
Links become clickable once you reach Level 2. However, the response box does not allow the use of anchor text, so all URLs will actually appear naked.
Be careful when posting links at Yahoo Answers. Some members got banned and had their Yahoo accounts deactivated for spamming. The community allows you to link answers back to your own blog site only when the URL helps support your response. Using your blog URL as a "make-shift signature" could get you into trouble.*
