What is Quora and How Does It Work?
By Corbin HartwickUpdated on March 17, 2022
Have you ever had a question that you needed answered, but were unsure who would have the answer to it? Maybe it was a technical question about how to do something on your computer or mobile device. Maybe it was a question about why events around the world are happening the way that they are. Or maybe it was a question about why you or people whom you know think and act the way that you do.
With the advent of the Internet, you could just type your question into a search engine and see what comes up. However, the result that you get might not exactly be the question that you asked, or the answer that you were looking for. So, instead, you can use Quora.com. Quora is a website specifically devoted to people asking and answering questions on all sorts of topics. And if you can’t find the answer that you seek on Quora, ask your specific question yourself. Who knows… a famous expert in that subject may have an answer for you!
So what exactly is Quora?
Quora is a website where questions are asked and answered. These questions and answers are organized into topics, edited, liked, and commented on by Quora’s community of users. Quora’s users can display their expertise in various fields, and some Quora users are even celebrities or other notable people!
How Quora works: 4 steps to getting started
1. Sign up for a free Quora account, and tell Quora what you want to know and what you already know.
Creating an account on Quora is quick and easy. All you need is your name, your email address, and a password; you can also sign in through your Facebook or Google (e.g. Gmail) account. Then, tell Quora what topics you’re interested in, so that it can show you relevant questions and answers. You can also tell Quora what you already know a lot about, so if a Quora user has a question on that subject, they’ll know who to call!
2. Search for a question and its answer, or ask a question yourself.
Someone on Quora may have already asked the question that you want to know the answer to, and another Quora user may have already answered it! Type a question into Quora and see if it matches — or at least is similar to — a question that someone on Quora has already asked. If not, you can submit your question to Quora, perhaps with a few explanatory details. With any luck, one or more people on Quora will write an answer to your question!
3. Help someone answer their question… or do it yourself, if you know how!
Do you know how to answer a quandary that someone has posted on Quora? Go ahead and write your answer! If you don’t… that’s okay, too! You may know someone or something that can help. You can ask another Quora user who has knowledge in the subject at hand to help out, or leave a lead as to where an answer might be found (or how a question might be made more specific, so as to be more easily answerable). Or, you can share the question on your other social media accounts… maybe one of your friends or followers will know how to answer it!
4. An answer isn’t necessarily the end on Quora… spread the knowledge!
Just because a question on Quora has been answered doesn’t mean that you can’t still contribute! You can flag the answers that you think are most correct or least correct, or share them with your friends who might want to know them, too. You can also comment on an answer if you think that something needs to be added to or changed about it, or reply to other comments and get a debate going in pursuit of the truth!
That’s a little bit about what Quora is and does! Before we start you on your quest to gain and spread knowledge on Quora, though, we’ll quickly look at its strong and weak points.