I decided to check out Aardvark for the first time this morning.
Aardvark "finds people, not web pages, that have specific information" by leveraging the knowledge people have and pooling their expertise into one place. It uses social media distribution channels to get live answers to your questions.
It's quick and it happens in real-time, something that is possible with access made available over e-mail, Instant Messenger, Twitter, and the iPhone. Best of all... it works! My favourite part of this is that it's user-friendly and easier on the eyes than Yahoo! Answers.
So, back to this morning. I asked a question about Sakuras in Toronto and before long (within 20 minutes or so) someone from California had an answer to my question. It wasn't a cheesy answer either. I understand that for some questions it may take a longer waiting time but this example definately shows the potential of where Aardvark can go. More importantly, there's an atmosphere in there that makes it easy and fun to communicate questions and answers.
Aardvark Has Potential
Now that Aardvark has been acquired by Google, the big search giant will have access to a database of search queries and insights of what people want to know. Looks like there's going to be a few things Google will be able to do with this.
Now, we'll just have to sit back and see how Google propels this in the near future.
Company Site: http://www.vark.com/
