Got a technical, software or programming question like, “Is a function larger than an array [in Javascript]?” Or, do you just want to know when the first use of a secret identity in a comic book was? Either way, I’ve got your answer.
Well, I don’t, but Stack Exchange does. There’s a lot of user- generated question and answer sites out there, finding information you want isn’t necessarily difficult on the internet. What struck me when I was browsing through Stack Exchange was that the quality of the questions was far better than your average Yahoo! Answers. This is not a venue for “how du u kno wen ur in luv?” It’s smart people needing information from other smart people. The homepage is an endless scroll of questions, most of them interesting enough I found myself browsing the site. If you’re interested, the gent that founded Stack Exchange also founded Super User, a Q&A site that focuses only on technical questions.
Founder Jeff talks more below about creating a super exchange (see what I did there?):
How would you explain what you do to somebody’s grandmother?
If you have a technical question and type it in to Google, we want Stack Exchange (and Super User) be the page with the best answer!
What are some industry specific challenges you faced?
There are a lot of sites and forums that already offer technical answers to computer questions. Getting heard above the din takes time and effort, but our focus on simple, clean presentation and a relentless dedication to quality pays off, particularly on new topics where there aren’t as many web pages out there.
If you could go back, would you do anything differently? If so, what and why?
We kind of screwed up by not having a special “meta” site for community members to discuss Super User until very recently. If we’ve learned anything, it is that “the place where you discuss the place” is an essential ingredient in any community. I wrote about this on my blog:http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2012/02/listen-to-your-community-but-dont-let-them-tell-you-what-to-do.html but it finally exists now athttp://meta.superuser.com , although we should have had it from day one. (more…)
While economists (as usual) refuse to agree on the specifics, there is a general consensus that the recovery may (finally) be underway. Last week the Labor Department announced that in January over 240,000 new jobs were created and that the unemployment rate was at its lowest level in three years. In addition, tax revenues are increasing as is consumer spending, and exports have grown across many industries.
