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Wednesday, October 27, 2010

ChaCha - The Future of Reference?

Here at the University of Minnesota Libraries, we offer 24/7 reference assistance to our users through a collaboration with other libraries (since few libraries are actually open 24/7).

However, as the action moves from phones and email to texting, from computers to PDAs, one has to ask what the future of reference would seem to be.

A few years ago I was intrigued by the rise of a new for-profit service called ChaCha. The company has been able to create a compelling product that incorporates information (not always the highest quality) along with social networking aspects and provide on-demand service to millions. The resulting pool of answers and marketing information on their prime youth demographic is bringing in piles of money from advertisers and more and more satisfied users.

I wanted to know more - and found that no one (especially no one in information science or libraries) had really studied the company and its products/strategy. I was able to intrigue Barbara Quint as well (editor of SEARCHER magazine). The resulting article continues to tweak my imagination - and perhaps yours as well.

Consultant Peggy Albright, interviewed for the article, noted that: "It is well understood that in coming years, more people will access the Internet via their mobile devices than from their PCs. This is very exciting for search and it will introduce new search functions and opportunities that we can only now imagine....We are only at the beginning of this evolution in search."

See for yourselves!

"ChaCha: The Future of Reference in the Mobile Market?" SEARCHER 18(3): 32-43, April 2010.
ChaCha article.pdf

1 comment:

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