The good stuff follows. Bear with me here! I am going to show you how you can build ‘brand you’ using Quora – but first a little bit about yours truly.
With Facebook I was late on the mark! All of my friends both current and forgotten were using the site to get in contact. I procrastinated until the pressure was too much.
Sound familiar?
When I started tweeting about a year and a half ago, I didn’t take Twitter very seriously either. In fact I didn’t see the potential of Twitter until months later – when the site became the conversation starter at every sales meeting and social get-together.
Could you imagine not having these sites now? They play a major role in so many people’s business and social lives. Their popularity can only increase as school kids use them and grow into working adults.
So it was with this in mind that I decided to check out the new kid on the block, Quora.
My fascination with the new ‘big thing’ in social networking happened as a result of a blog post I read by the popular American blogger Robert Scoble when he blogged “Is Quora the Biggest Blogging Innovation in 10 Years?”
You can read the article here – http://scobleizer.com/2010/12/26/is-quora-the-biggest-blogging-innovation-in-10-years/
Soon journalists at popular magazines and newspapers were jumping in to see what all the hype was about – as did I!
I immediately liked how I was invited to sign up using my Twitter or Facebook account. I chose Twitter and I am glad I did. More on that later.
Quora invites its members to follow topics that interest them. They can then ask questions that are open to other followers of that topic to answer. All members can also answer questions that are in their area of expertise.
Members following the question can then vote up or down the different answers.
I made my first ‘mistake’ by asking a question about one of my interests – article marketing – and then immediately answering the question. I was then told by someone – who is obviously very knowledgable in such things – that I shouldn’t do that. I chose to leave my question and answer there. No point in hiding it!
We are all new at this one.
You see, anyone who signs on to Quora right now is getting into a social networking site in its infancy even if it has been around for quite a while. The site has only recently gone viral which means it is the perfect time to get yourself in there and make a name for yourself.
Read the questions and answers written by others and follow those people and topics who interest you. When you feel comfortable doing so, ask a question or even answer a few. Judging from my experience, nothing bad will happen to you even if you make the odd ‘mistake.’
We’re all learning this together. That is part of being in this new and exciting community.
Like the other social networking sites before it, Quora will grow and progress in the direction that its members take it. That is part of the fun of being in it from the beginning.
Now for the good stuff.
By getting into Quora early, I have had a chance to answer questions and really let people know who I am and what I do. What’s more, my friendships on Twitter have grown stronger as many of my followers and the people I follow join Quora to see what it’s all about.
People I meet on Quora can easily follow my on Twitter as well by clicking the Twitter icon next to my name.
This has lead to conversations with interesting people I may have followed for monthson Twitter but with whom I never had a two way dialogue.
In some cases I have begun talking with and learning from people who I never really noticed but are now followers of my Facebook page, LinkedIn and Twitter pages.
With Quora, I have had a chance to learn about people’s expertise by the questions they ask and answer. Quora has made my social network relationships stronger and better. Such relationships just are not possible with Twitter alone. The two sites compliment each other perfectly.
Every day new followers know what I do for a living and I know what they do. We do not need to sell to one another. We can read each other’s answers to interesting questions.
We are able to introduce each other to our contacts and colleagues on other social networks making our digital footprints bigger and our time online much more fulfilling.
Want to build ‘brand you?’ Get into Quora now while it is young and watch how everything else falls into place.
Let’s get to know each other better! You can follow me on Quora at http://www.quora.com/dan-toombs.
By Dan Toombs
