SOCIAL QUESTION ASKING DOES ANYONE WANT TO LEARN HOW TO GET QUESTIONS ANSWERED? Jaime Teevan with M. R. Morris, D. J. Liebling, K. Panovich, J. Yang, L. Adamic, M. Ackerman, B. Hecht, D. Gergle

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Questions About Questions  What questions do people ask their social network?  What type of questions do people ask? About what?  Which questions get answered?  How can someone ask an effective question?  Why do people ask questions of their network?  What motivates question asking and answering?  Why would someone ask versus search?  How can tools help find the best answers?

What type of questions are asked about what? Which questions get answered? How can someone ask an effective question? What Question Do People Ask?

What Questions Do People Ask?  What type of questions are asked about what?

 Have you used a status message to ask a question?  Frequency of asking, question types, responses received, why?  Provide an example  Have you answered a status message question?  Why or why not?  Provide an example  Participants: 624 Microsoft employees  Follow-up: 933 from four cultures (US, UK, China, India) Survey of Status Message Asking

Overview of Asking and Answering  Asking status message questions  Half of participants reported asking questions  Answering status message questions  3 out of 4 participants had seen a question  Almost all who had also answered questions  Cultural variation in overall behavior  China and India asked and answered more questions  Questions seen as more important than in US and UK

Consistencies in Question Wording  Questions short (75 characters, 1 sentence)  18.5% of phrased as a statement I need a recommendation on a good all purpose pair of sandals.  Often scoped  1 out of 5 directed to “anyone” Anyone know of a good Windows 6 mobile phone that won’t break the bank?  Network subset Hey Seattle tweeps: Feel like karaoke on the Eastside tonight?

Social Network Question Topics Topic%Example Technology29%Anyone know if WOW works on Windows 7? Entertainment17%Was seeing Up in the theater worth the money? Home & Family12%So what’s the going rate for the tooth fairy? Professional11% Which university is better for Masters? Cornell or Georgia Tech? Places8% Planning a trip to Whistler in the off-season. Recommendation on sites to see? Restaurants6%Hanging in Ballard tonight. Dinner recs? Current events5% What is your opinion on the recent proposition that was passed in California? Shopping5%What’s a good Mother’s Day gift? Philosophy2%What would you do if you had a week to live? Missing: Health and Pornography M i s s i n g : H e a l t h a n d P o r n o g r a p h y Religion, Politics, Dating, Finance R e l i g i o n, P o l i t i c s, D a t i n g, F i n a n c e

Social Network Question Types Type%Example Recommendation29% Building a new playlist – any ideas for good running songs? Opinion22% I am wondering if I should buy the Kitchen-Aid ice cream maker? Factual17% Anyone know a way to put Excel charts into LaTeX? Rhetorical14% Why are men so stupid? Invitation9% Who wants to go to Navya Lounge this evening? Favor4% Need a babysitter in a big way tonight… anyone?? Social connection3% I am hiring in my team. Do you know anyone who would be interested? Offer1% Could any of my friends use boys size 4 jeans?

Questions Vary by Who Is Asking Type Recommendation Opinion Factual Rhetorical Invitation Favor Social connection Offer Topic Technology Entertainment Home & Family Professional Places Restaurants Current events Shopping Philosophy men women old young Twitter Facebook

Asking used more seriously by Asian cultures v. Western cultures Questions Vary by Who Is Asking Type Recommendation Opinion Factual Rhetorical Invitation Favor Social connection Offer Topic Technology Entertainment Home & Family Professional Places Restaurants Current events Shopping Philosophy

Types and Topics of Questions?  Subjective questions on acceptable topics  Popular topics: Technology, entertainment, family  Popular types: Recommendations, opinions  Questions vary by demographics and culture  Which questions get answered?

Questions Get Good Answers  Quantity: 94% of questions answered  Quality: 69% of responses helpful  Speed: 90% within a day (24% within 30 minutes)  People expected faster responses  But were satisfied with speed  Answer quality varies with phrasing  Shorter questions get more useful responses

Answer Quality Varies by Question Type Recommendation Opinion Factual Rhetorical Invitation Favor Social connection Offer Topic Technology Entertainment Home & Family Professional Places Restaurants Current events Shopping Philosophy Unhelpful No correlation Faster

Which Questions Get Answered?  Subjective questions on acceptable topics  Popular topics: Technology, entertainment, family  Popular types: Recommendations, opinions  Questions vary by demographics and culture  Questions get many high quality answers quickly  Correlated with phrasing  Correlated with topic and type  How can someone ask an effective question?

Controlled Study of Effective Asking  Controlled experiment  Many people ask the same question  Compare responses  Need generic question  Topic: Entertainment  Type: Opinion Should I watch E.T.?

Controlled Variables QuestionStatement 1 SentenceShould I watch E. T.? I wonder if I should watch E.T. 2 Sentences Taking it easy. Should I watch E.T.? Taking it easy. I wonder if I should watch E.T.  Who posted the question  Demographics  Social network use and makeup  Profile picture  Time of day  Question phrasing  Length  Punctuation  Scoping

QuestionStatement 1 SentenceShould I watch E. T.? I wonder if I should watch E.T. 2 Sentences Taking it easy. Should I watch E.T.? Taking it easy. I wonder if I should watch E.T. Controlled Variables  Who posted the question  Demographics  Social network use and makeup  Profile picture  Time of day  Question phrasing  Length  Punctuation  Scoping QuestionStatement 1 Sentence Does anyone think I should watch E. T.? I wonder if anyone thinks I should watch E.T. 2 Sentences Taking it easy. Does anyone think I should watch E.T.? Taking it easy. I wonder if anyone thinks I should watch E.T. Scope

Measuring the Responses  Quantity  % with responses  # of responses  Quality  % answered, useful  Response length  Speed  Time to first response Count QuantityQualitySpeed % with response # of responses % answered % useful Response length Time to first response Overall28282%3.259%72%561:27

Who Posted the Question  Generally saw few significant differences  Larger social networks give better answers  More social profile picture get better answers  Close shot  Another person Count QuantityQualitySpeed % with response # of responses % answered % useful Response length Time to first response ≤ %2.650%63%54.92: %3.766%80%56.90:52

 Afternoon questions  Receive more answers faster  Morning questions  Receive longer responses Count QuantityQualitySpeed % with response # of responses % answered % useful Response length Time to first response Morning13884%2.852%74%61.91:50 Afternoon14380%3.665%70%49.81:05 Time of Day

Count QuantityQualitySpeed % with response # of responses % answered % useful Response length Time to first response 1 sentence15388%3.773%80%55.21:08 2 sentences12975%2.543%62%56.01:55 Count QuantityQualitySpeed % with response # of responses % answered % useful Response length Time to first response Question14381%3.464%80%56.91:25 Statement13976%3.054%63%54.01:30 Phrasing  Length  1 sentence gets more high quality responses faster  Punctuation  Question get more (useful) responses than statements  Scope  Scoping the question helps – even if just “anyone” Count QuantityQualitySpeed % with response # of responses % answered % useful Response length Time to first response None8978%2.654%63%43.81:37 Anyone9583%3.261%74%57.71:20 Movie buff9886%3.761%79%63.31:27

How Can Someone Ask Effectively?  Subjective questions on acceptable topics  Popular topics: Technology, entertainment, family  Popular types: Recommendations, opinions  Questions vary by demographics and culture  Questions get many high quality answers quickly  Correlated with phrasing  Correlated with topic and type  Can influence responses by how a question is asked  Ask short questions of “anyone” in the afternoon

What Questions Do People Ask?  Subjective questions on acceptable topics  Popular topics: Technology, entertainment, family  Popular types: Recommendations, opinions  Questions vary by demographics and culture  Questions get many high quality answers quickly  Correlated with phrasing  Correlated with topic and type  Can influence responses by how a question is asked  Ask short questions of “anyone” in the afternoon

What motivates question asking and answering? Why would someone ask versus search? How can tools help find the best answers? Why Do People Ask Questions?

 What motivates question asking and answering?

Motivations for Asking Motive%Example Trust24.8%I trust my friends more than I trust strangers. Subjective21.5%Search engine can provide data but not an opinion. Thinks search would fail 15.2% I’m pretty search engine couldn’t answer a question of that nature. Audience14.9%Friends with kids, first hand real experience. Connect12.4%I wanted my friends to know I was asking the question. Speed6.6%Quick response time, no formalities. Context5.4%Friends know my tastes. Tried search5.4%I tried searching and didn’t get good results. Easy5.4%Didn’t want to look through multiple search results. Quality4.1%Human-vetted responses.

Motivations for Answering Motive%Example Altruism37.0Just trying to be helpful. Expertise31.9If I’m an expert in the area. Question15.4Interest in the topic. Relationship13.7If I know and like the person. Connect13.5Keeps my network alive. Free time12.3Boredom/procrastination. Social capital10.5I will get help when I need it myself. Obligation5.4A tit-for-tat. Humor3.7I might have a witty response. Ego3.4Wish to seem knowledgeable.

Motivations for Answering Motive%Example Altruism37.0Just trying to be helpful. Expertise31.9If I’m an expert in the area. Question15.4Interest in the topic. Relationship13.7If I know and like the person. Connect13.5Keeps my network alive. Free time12.3Boredom/procrastination. Social capital10.5I will get help when I need it myself. Obligation5.4A tit-for-tat. Humor3.7I might have a witty response. Ego3.4Wish to seem knowledgeable. Motives for Not Answering - Don’t know the answer - Don’t have time or interest M o t i v e s f o r N o t A n s w e r i n g - D o n ’ t k n o w t h e a n s w e r - D o n ’ t h a v e t i m e o r i n t e r e s t - Don’t know the asker - D o n ’ t k n o w t h e a s k e r

Why Do People Ask Questions?  People motivated by trust and altruism  Search often considered or tried  Cultural differences: Entertainment v. social capital  Why would someone ask versus search?

Information Need: Backsplash Re-Tiling “Any tips for tiling a kitchen backsplash?” kitchen re-tiling tips backsplash re-tiling kitchen remodel diy Study of Searching v. Asking

Task (as expressed to the social network) Is now looking for a new phone to get… Any suggestions??? any tips for tiling a kitchen backsplash? Anyone know how to stop an in-car nav system from constantly rebooting???? Ugggggh Does anyone know how to train for half marathon? Links…training…diet to follow would be great! Lauren's going away for a month, anyone know any good vegetarian recipes? So…after getting the PMP, what else is anyone doing to keep up their development? should I wait for ZuneHD or buy Ipod touch (to gift someone)? is wanting to move away from Live Space for storing and sharing pictures… Any recommendations? Can one defeat Seattle winter with a trip to New Zealand? Does anybody have the beta on bouldering there? is looking for recommendations (restaurants and activities) in Cancun is starting to plan my Thanksgiving trip to Disneyland…what are the must see attractions, especially for a 3-year that loves princesses? Any websites out there for planning other than disneyland.com? Does anyone have any recommendations on a good medium to high end TV?

How People Searched v. Asked Task Time spent searching Time to first response Responses pre-search Total responses Phone Shopping Re-Tile Kitchen29837 Fix Car GPS Half Marathon Training Tips2100 Vegetarian Recipes Career Development Advice Compare Zune and iPod Touch32713 Photo Storage Service Bouldering in New Zealand Cancun Vacation49522 Disneyland Vacation TV Shopping3400  On average, searchers  Spent 30 minutes  Issued 6.5 queries  Visited 35.4 pages

Different Benefits for Each Approach  Benefits of searching  Received answers very quickly  Could refine their query as they learned more  Found content considered objective and unbiased  Benefits of asking  Auxiliary social benefits (awareness, connections)  Answers highly personalized  Received answers not encountered through search  Answers encountered through validated

Why Ask v. Search?  People motivated by trust and altruism  Search often considered or tried  Cultural differences: Entertainment v. social capital  Searching and asking provide different benefits  Searching is fast and can be refined  Asking creates social connections, finds the unexpected  How can tools help find the best answers?

Socially Embedded Search Engine How do people respond to search engines in their social spaces? H o w d o p e o p l e r e s p o n d t o s e a r c h e n g i n e s i n t h e i r s o c i a l s p a c e s ?

Hard Problems to Overcome  Not always appropriate to respond  Most status messages are for social discussion  Questions can be rhetorical Can poop qualify as a character in a book?  Coming up with a relevant answer is hard  Relevance not the only factor to consider  Social conformance also matters Your friends comments reflect on you Mentioning others can feel invasive

New Opportunities  Extend existing search algorithms  Lots of context available  Answers do not need to be found immediately  Interesting feedback mechanisms  Humor and serendipity can outweigh relevance  Link to the children’s book Everybody Poops  Opportunity to shape the dialog  Ask follow-up questions  Influence friends responses

How Can Tools Help Answer?  People motivated by trust and altruism  Search often considered or tried  Cultural differences: Entertainment v. social capital  Searching and asking provide different benefits  Searching is fast and can be refined  Asking creates social connections, finds the unexpected  Get both with algorithmic content in a social setting  Social conformance important, can be collected in new ways  Opportunity to influence friends responses

Answers About Questions  What questions do people ask their social network?  People ask subjective questions on acceptable topics  Questions get many high quality answers quickly  Can influence answers by how a question is asked  Why do people ask questions of their network?  People motivated by trust and altruism  Searching and asking provide different benefits  Get both with algorithmic responses in a social setting

M. R. Morris, J. Teevan, and K. Panovich. What Do People Ask Their Social Networks, and Why? A Survey Study of Status Message Q&A Behavior. In Proceedings of CHI J. Yang, M. R. Morris, J. Teevan, L. Adamic, and M. Ackerman. Culture Matters: A Survey Study of Social Q&A Behavior. In Proceedings of ICWSM J. Teevan, M. R. Morris, and K. Panovich. Factors Affecting Response Quantity, Quality and Speed in Questions Asked via Online Social Networks. In Proceedings of ICWSM M. R. Morris, J. Teevan, and K. Panovich. A Comparison of Information Seeking Using Search Engines and Social Networks. In Proceedings of ICWSM Questions?