A powerpoint on Quora; 'The Q&A website.

2. TEAM MEMBERS

3. Contents
Executive Summary
Introduction
Founders
How does it work?
Launchpad for budding writers
Interactions
Social Effects
Career Counselling
Moderations
Popularity
Conclusion
Bibliography

4. Executive Summary
Quora has been a revolutionary effort to combine social networking and knowledge
absorption as one. There have been Q&A forums and websites, but none as efficient,
intriguing or addictive as Quora.
It helps find experienced individuals to answer queries. It provides equal opportunities for
a difference in opinions as well as individual point of views.
Also, it caters to the need for self-growth by allowing users to make a name for themselves
by using their knowledge to write and also develop multi-faceted outlook by reading what
others have written.
And so, we feel, that to help people reach out to better and/or different minds as well as
ensure a stable
medium for information influx, our collaborated attempt to understand and explain Quora
can go a long way in achieving this.

5. INTRODUCTION
Quora is an online engineering platform that connects the information needs of real people with
information solutions provided by real people.
It connects a person to everything he/she wants to know about. It aims to be the easiest place to write
new content and share content from the web. It organizes people and their interests so one can find,
collect and share the information that is most valuable.
It's a place where you can ask questions no encyclopedia is ever likely to answer, and expect inventive,
authoritative answers from people who ought to know. It is for people who wish to gain perspective by
reading answers to the questions they ask, answered by people who have enough experience and
knowledge to do so.
In addition to asking and answering questions, Quora is also a place for blogging. In 2013, the online
site launched its blogging features, which, according to the site, allows writers to share their
knowledge and thoughts in a space that they control, without the structure of the questions-and-
answers format but with the same potential for viral distribution and the same engagement through
votes and comments.

6. FOUNDERS 
Charlie Cheever
Co-Founder : Quora
He was formerly an engineer and manager at Facebook,
where he oversaw the creation of Facebook Connect and
the Facebook Platform.
Charlie is a graduate of Harvard College with a
B.A. in Computer Science
He stepped down from active management of Quora in
September 2012 but remains an advisor.
Adam D'Angelo
CEO & Co-Founder : Quora
He was chief technology officer (CTO) of Facebook, and also
served as its vice president of engineering.
D’Angelo attended California Institute of Technology, where
he graduated with a B.S. in Computer Science.
He is actively involved and oversees Quora moderations as
well as other key areas.

7. HOW DOES IT WORK?
Anyone can easily signup through an email/ a google+ account / a facebook account. The
flexibility in sign-up options displays the resolve of the Quora community to reach out to a
plethora of people all around the world.
The website is simple and easy to use.
Adding information about ourselves so that people can connect to us as a person and
know about our lives and interests is efficient. Creating bios for various fields, adding
career and academic information is almost like a creating a virtual clone of who we are in
our real lives.
One can be a quiet reader and explore various topics and absorb a ton of information and
perspective or can step up and air his/her views to a diverse audience. People can
comment on other people’s answers and protest or commend their views as they like all
within the boundaries of civic sense, of course.

8. The concept of upvotes helps keep the motivation for writers going whereas the
downvotes or collapsed answers compel a user to think more and write thoughtfully
instead of just bombarding the question with a volley of emotional and irrational answers.
It is easy to follow people, search for those who are proficient in their fields and also
register admiration for someone whom you love to read and for whose answers you
devotedly keep an eye out.
With clear and compact answers or well elaborated opinions, it is also possible that a
person becomes a top writer and can be invited to attend Quora meet-ups and
conferences so as to form a circle of diverse people with clarity on issues.
Recently, the introduction of Knowledge Prize questions has propelled the art of
answering from merely an intellectual exercise to a definite money making venture based
on the popularity and the public reaction that your words receive.

9. LAUNCHPAD FOR BUDDING WRITERS
Quora is quite unique in its own way. It is disinterested to any specific
group of a society. It has a bewitching feature that it is open to all. It
caters to all the novice and professional writers sitting there equally to
bloom. It is a platform for assiduous writers to get more and more
intimate with their passion. The phrase-horses for courses finds its
place here. It is a unique space where you can prove your mettle.
People, irrespective of caste, creed, economy, can find their niche with
their métier. A person has a chance to know about the minutiae of the
beloved topics. Quora motivates dark horses and helps them to get the
most out of themselves.

10. INTERACTIONS
Quora not only boosts up the budding writers, but also provides an
interface to interact with the trailblazers sitting out there. Quora
acts as a transparent membrane which facilitates flow of
information or fun facts between different people. One can ask all
sorts of queries or questions and expect them to be answered. This
is the best part. You can upvote or downvote any answer posted by
anonymous on Quora and even you have the liberty to post more
apt answer relevant to that(or any) topic on Quora. One can have a
sound kick off on various topics with anyone in the world. One can
also have a Q&A sessions with the intellectuals.

11. SOCIAL EFFECTS
People are discussing social evils such as the dowry, racism, and gender
related issues. A diverse input with contributions from people belonging to
different backgrounds helps to realize the various aspects of these issues.
Various issues related to human relations, emotional interpretations are being
explored and explained well.
In an effort to help understand the behavior of people, many writers such as
Franklin Deveaux and Deepak Shukla are providing valuable insight as to how
human minds connect ideas with thoughts enabling them to decipher the gist
of any situation. Mostly, it related to relationship advise or family relations
and how to project one’s emotions effectively and expressively.

12. These are not just the conventional answers that one expects to get from people in a
relation or those who have experienced a situation or circumstance. Rather, social scientists
who have explored and experimented extensively on the issues, are now answering the
questions providing a decent depth into human interactions and addressing the complex
nature of social living.
Issues from various parts of the world such as polygamy, homosexuality, gothic culture,
genital mutilations, crime as well as different rituals and rites are being discussed with
sensitivity as well as an open mind.
Not only these, behavioral advise around police personnel, gun-upkeep guidelines as well
as legal advise is also readily available , though with certain disclaimers. Still, as a place to
start some research or gain some outlook, it is as good a source as any.

13. Career Counselling
Many opportunities present themselves on Quora. For example, one can easily ask a questions of Ankur
Warikoo (CEO, nearbuy) and the beautiful thing is that you can expect a reply and in many cases, people have
gone on to work as interns and full-time employees after having a chat on Quora itself. It is not only a means to
secure information but has gone on to become a means to secure a position or funding or sound business
advice. For people here are acting out of an interest to spread knowledge not knowing who might be touched
by a certain answer.
Whether a person is an entrepreneur or a dunderhead, Quora welcomes all as it is for all, by all, through all.
Many top minds at Quora have made access to information easier by guiding aspirants to their desired career
goals. Moreover, their credentials speak for the veracity of the information they provide.
“Those who can, they do; those who did, they teach” is perhaps the inspiring thought behind this initiative
that Quora has become, connecting doers with mentors who can make the path to success not a short one but
definitely a sure one.

14. To know about the armed forces, one can follow Prabha Mohan Baliga, Vikram Karve,
Annika Schauer and other veterans.
The way they have explained the workings and the behavioral patterns as well as the career
paths of those in the armed forces is commendable as these are areas which do not expose
themselves much to media or public scrutiny.
Similarly, to have a detailed preparation plan for Indian Engineering Services (IES), Aditi
Saini’s blog can go a long way.
Similarly, insights by Aviral Bhatnagar into the CAT (MBA entrance) examination as well as life
at IITs or IIMs is popular reading with his followers.
For those who are depressed and merely need a boost-up, answers from Deepak Shukla,
Virali Modi and other writers can surely be the much needed reprieve.
From fitness to financials, Quora writers as a whole are fast becoming the behemoths of
knowledge & motivation.

15. MODERATIONS
How are moderation and policy decisions made on Quora?
Quora admins make decisions about adoption, interpretation, and enforcement of policy on the
site. Most moderation decisions occur by the consensus decision of the admin group. However,
when admins cannot reach a consensus decision, the decision will be made by Quora (the
company). Moving a decision from the admin group to the company will occur when any 3
admins request it. In such situations, the decision will be discussed by all admins who are Quora
employees. If they come to a consensus decision, then that decision will be final. If not, then
Adam (Quora's founder & CEO) will make the final decision.
Due to his central role in the founding of Quora, Adam holds a special role in the moderation of
the site. This authority is used on an ad hoc basis; it is exercised when other decision-making
structures are inadequate or have failed in a particular situation.
Quora's site moderation and governance has been influenced by (1) open source programming
communities, including Python and the role played by Guido van Rossum and (2) the role of
Jimmy Wales in the development and governance of Wikipedia.

16. MODERATIONS
Quora's “ Be Nice, Be Respectful " policy
A core Quora principle ("Be Nice, Be Respectful") requires that people treat other
people on the site with civility, respect, and consideration. Assume that others on the site
are also trying to make it a great resource. Respect opposing or differing opinions, beliefs
and conclusions. Try to listen to and understand others you may disagree with. Encourage
others on the site to also be welcoming and respectful.
Personal attacks are not allowed on Quora, nor are disrespectful or insulting attacks
directed at other people's content.
Comment threads on Quora are interactions among strangers. Given that another person
on the site may be new to Quora and/or doesn't know you, we require a higher level of
politeness than other interactive platforms where users know one another and/or where
more adversarial social norms are established and tolerated.

17. Report Content to Quora Moderators
MODERATIONS
Quora's moderation team plays an important role in maintaining and growing high
quality knowledge, by improving, editing, and collapsing content which violates site
policies. Essential to this role is identifying which content needs moderator attention. So,
Quora has enabled everyone to report content that violates Quora
policies. "Report" links exist on questions, answers, comments, blog posts and profiles
across the site. Clicking these links opens a dialog that lets you specify the problem with a
piece of content.
Reports of policy-violating content will be sent to Quora admins, who will use them to
more quickly and effectively improve that content or remove it from the site. Report links
will help everyone in the Quora community work together to share and grow the world's
knowledge.

18. Quora has only one version of each question. It doesn’t have a left wing version, a right wing version, a western version,
and an eastern version. It can be the place to voice your opinion because Quora is where the debate is happening. The
is for a Quora answer to be the definitive answer for everybody forever.
After all, it is not possible to have a debate without being tolerant and thoughtful regarding what others have to say. It
not always sync with our own thoughts but that is what an individual must strive for, to accommodate conflicting views so
to see the bigger picture.
These days, many users have taken to sarcasm as a way of registering their differences on any question which might be
asked. Although, previously considered as a negative impact, these days, many users find it pleasant to have a short laugh
after an intense discussion.
MODERATIONS
Tolerance at Quora

19. POPULARITY
Quora milestones over time…
The Quora firm was founded in June 2009,and the website was made available
to the public on June 21.
Quora’s base users grew quickly in December 2010.
Quora had an estimated 500,000 registered users, as of January 2011.
Quora released its official iPhone app on September 29,2011 and an official
Android app on September 5,2012 to gain more popularity among Smart Phone
users.
Further in January 2013,Quora launched a blogging platform.
In April 2014, it was announced that Quora was raising $80 million from Tiger
Global at a reported $900 million valuation.

20. POPULARITY
Traffic Overview : Quora.com
Total visits on Desktop and mobile web in last 6 months
(Date Range : October 2015 to March 2016 )
Engagements:
March,2016
Total Visits : 260.8M
Time on Site : 00:02:16
Page Visits : 2.0
**All contents are from SimilarWeb.com

21. POPULARITY
TRAFFIC BY COUNTRIES : Quora.com
TOP 5 QUORA USING COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD
(IN PERCENTAGE OF USERS)
**Data of last 3 months i.e. from Jan,2016 to March,2016
United States 34.61%
India 22.06%
United Kingdom 5.58%
Canada 3.54%
Australia 2.36%
TRAFFIC SOURCES
Direct Referrals Search Social Mail Display
**All contents are from SimilarWeb.com

22. Why is Quora so popular in India?
Quora is popular in India, or a very few users are using Quora a little bit too much. A fourth of user
activity is driven by Indians now. And by the rate of influx, Indians should contribute more than
Americans in another 7 months.
Reasons:
1.Topics in Quora :
Business & Tech, Health and Social
sciences are topics of interest for the
younger generation Indians.
2.Introduction of Android app (which
is driving the membership surge) &
IITians (early adopters)
If you follow the right people and
topics, you can control your feed and
the grammatical errors. Its about who
you follow and content you care
about, not the nationality of users
that matters.
POPULARITY
**Contents from Quora.com

23. Quora does not feature ads as of now. It focuses more on the quality of answers and overall development of
the content than anything else right now. Hence, it will be quite interesting to see how it plans to survive in
the long run. With users like Barack Obama and various other renowned personalities, it has already
proved its utility. But survivability in the long run, that is a whole other equation.
Quora is one of those unique platforms where the suppliers and consumers of information are the same - the
registered users. One can be a supplier by writing answers to questions and be a consumer at the same time
by reading other answers, asking questions, following topics etc.
The number of people on Quora are quite less at this stage. For the purpose of convenience, let's assume
1000. To them, Quora represents an intellectual, niche platform where people with questions will be
answered by people with answers. It can hardly become the Facebook of future. But, having said that, it
cannot be denied that Quora has made a deep impact and it does have a devoted and intellectual user base
for sure. Hence, it would be great to see this platform growing and extending beyond its boundaries.
Lastly, it is only 3 years old right now. So it is going to take a bit more time before any concrete assumptions
can be made.

24. BIBLIOGRAPHY
It gives us immense pleasure to submit this project on “Quora”.
The work done in this project has been largely and dedicatedly
been done by us, the group members.
Some parts have been accumulated and ordered with the help
of articles and pictorial representation from the Internet which
deserve due mention. They are:-
• https://www.similarweb.com
• https://www.Quora.com/
• http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/quora.com
• http://www.slideshare.net/michaelzandstra/meet-quora