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> 7. I'm not yet convinced that there's a huge market for paid responses when the Stack Exchange network and Quora both offer large userbases who give their tim

> 7. I'm not yet convinced that there's a huge market for paid responses when the Stack Exchange network and Quora both offer large userbases who give their time to answer questions for free. Perhaps it is this model they are trying to defeat. If an answerer has the opportunity to earn real money for their time, it might be theorized that they would opt for that over the karma systems. It makes sense for a greater breadth of expertise, as respect loses its inherent value as you grow beyond the social circles or occupational circles.

d4nt 15y ago
This will be interesting to watch as an experiment in intrinsic vs extrinsic motivations. Personally, I think this will become a Mechanical Turk style wasteland full of people charging < $1/hr and churning out dross.
- metaprinter 15y ago
  i had to google 'dross'
  - gwern 15y ago
    That is not something to boast about.
    - aangjie 15y ago
      perhaps, he thought he was complimenting you..:-)
- iam 15y ago
  Wasn't there an article a few months ago on HN about people completely changing their behavior when rewarded for the same task with money vs praise?
JacobAldridge 15y ago
There's also the risk that small amounts of money make it less likely for experts to offer their opinion. When I'm selling my time for $250+/hour, I'm not going to put any time into a contest with a $50 (or even $250) prize; but I'm more than happy to share it for free in the right community (like HN). This is the same offline. I'll gladly give up an afternoon to help friends and family with their micro businesses, but when they offer to pay it becomes awkward - they can't afford what I charge (since my business model and pricing is designed for much larger clients), and I have no energy to sell myself cheaply. Just say thank you / buy me a six pack / click the little up arrow.
- ma2rten 15y ago
  Why everyone thinking about professional use cases? They did not use the term contest for nothing. For things like picking a name this could be great.
glenngillen 15y ago
Didn't they try a similar theory with Knol vs. Wikipedia?

d4nt 15y ago

This will be interesting to watch as an experiment in intrinsic vs extrinsic motivations. Personally, I think this will become a Mechanical Turk style wasteland full of people charging < $1/hr and churning out dross.

metaprinter 15y ago
i had to google 'dross'
- gwern 15y ago
  That is not something to boast about.
  - aangjie 15y ago
    perhaps, he thought he was complimenting you..:-)
iam 15y ago
Wasn't there an article a few months ago on HN about people completely changing their behavior when rewarded for the same task with money vs praise?

JacobAldridge 15y ago

There's also the risk that small amounts of money make it less likely for experts to offer their opinion. When I'm selling my time for $250+/hour, I'm not going to put any time into a contest with a $50 (or even $250) prize; but I'm more than happy to share it for free in the right community (like HN). This is the same offline. I'll gladly give up an afternoon to help friends and family with their micro businesses, but when they offer to pay it becomes awkward - they can't afford what I charge (since my business model and pricing is designed for much larger clients), and I have no energy to sell myself cheaply. Just say thank you / buy me a six pack / click the little up arrow.

ma2rten 15y ago
Why everyone thinking about professional use cases? They did not use the term contest for nothing. For things like picking a name this could be great.

glenngillen 15y ago

Didn't they try a similar theory with Knol vs. Wikipedia?