Who Are You Talking to at these Expert Sites?
from the everyone's-an-expert dept
In the past few month there have been way too many of these new expert sites, and now the New York Times is taking a look at them. It seems that for most of them you don’t need any credentials to start giving advice (should I make a joke here about parents? nahhhh…). The thing that has always bothered me about all of these sites is that the people I go to advice are people I know and trust, or who have been specifically recommended by people I know and trust. I don’t have any faith in someone I meet through one of these expert sites.
Comments on “Who Are You Talking to at these Expert Sites?”
xpert site
I have used many of these expert sites and have found them to be very usefull…
I think the word expert was used so that users would know what the site is all about and doesn’t always mean that the members are experts…
Opinions and information are valuable but must be taken with a grain of salt…
I guess the Times never heard about USENET...
Since when is Deja.com an “expert site?” I know they have their own newsgroups apart from USENET, but from what I see of their polls they don’t have much volume and are easily spammed by special interests.
USENET, even on topics where it doesn’t break down into flames and noise, isn’t really characterised by “experts.” Oh, they’re there for some groups, but generally the people you get help from are more or less on the same level as yourself.
Jon
Expert sites
First off there is absolutely no pressure on anyone to take the advice that is given at these sites. As to whether they are experts or not from my experience (I am also an “expert” at a few of these sites) most if not all my questions were answered with a positive response that either helped or sent me in the right direction. If you close your mind to new information then it is a sorry state of mind you are in.