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There are services that work like that. Clarity.fm is perhaps the best example. They take a sort of micro-consulting approach. This allows experts to sell their

There are services that work like that. Clarity.fm is perhaps the best example. They take a sort of micro-consulting approach. This allows experts to sell their time in 1 minute increments. My problem with this approach is that the people who most need the help don’t have the money; and those who can help the most don’t need the money. (I can’t imagine many senior people actually wanting to squeeze money out of a college student.) I’ve met with a lot of young designers over the years—and I’m happy to lend a hand. That said, it’s difficult for me to spend an hour or two with everyone who asks. So, for me Officehours is a way to still help, but much more efficiently. I can offer 4 sessions in an hour, scheduling and time zones are all automated, and so are notifications. Admittedly, I’m biased (no wonder). But, this is really the reason we built Officehours. We believe that a lot of people want to help others—but they want a more convenient way to do so.

karjaluoto 11y ago
The other aspect to this is reputation. We’re building karma/ratings into the service. As such, those who help out the most, and get the best ratings will rank higher on the site (and have more access to other advisors). We think this will be a particularly handy way for early/mid-career folks to showcase their expertise. (Sort of like a high Twitter following can.) Once we have categories in place, visitors will be able to view by groupings like Marketing, Design, NodeJS, what-have-you. Those who show up higher in these listings will likely seem more credible, as a result. The other interesting part is that this isn’t limited to a mentor/protégé relationship. I helped a friend out with a question about switching from Photoshop to Sketch, using Officehours, last week. These relationships are important, and do a lot to build one’s reputation with other potential partners/clients. :-)

karjaluoto 11y ago

The other aspect to this is reputation. We’re building karma/ratings into the service. As such, those who help out the most, and get the best ratings will rank higher on the site (and have more access to other advisors). We think this will be a particularly handy way for early/mid-career folks to showcase their expertise. (Sort of like a high Twitter following can.) Once we have categories in place, visitors will be able to view by groupings like Marketing, Design, NodeJS, what-have-you. Those who show up higher in these listings will likely seem more credible, as a result. The other interesting part is that this isn’t limited to a mentor/protégé relationship. I helped a friend out with a question about switching from Photoshop to Sketch, using Officehours, last week. These relationships are important, and do a lot to build one’s reputation with other potential partners/clients. :-)