24 Feb Yahoo bastardizes Answers, sells its soul to the Devil
Steve reports that Yahoo Answers is now accepting what is called “Sponsored Questions” to its database of legitimate questions, officially corrupting it of its usefulness and rendering it worthless.
The folks at Yahoo say the property is losing money and that they needed to drum up some revenue. Ever hear of banner ads? Sure, they don’t work, but it doesn’t mean ad agencies aren’t selling ’em to their clients.
Here’s an example of New Line Cinema’s “Sponsored Question”:
Why does the recurrence of numbers (e.g., 23) and symbols suggest a hidden deeper meaning?
Hey I have the answer: NO ONE CARES. I’ve spoke about how brands should interact with blogs and in communities and this is clearly not the way to do it. Let’s check the score card: Transparent? Yes. Genuine? No. Topic of interest to consumers? Hardly.