Yedda, Down the Cyber Toilet!
by
on May 14, 2008,
"Imagine you could connect with someone who knows the answers to your questions, on any topic, at any time." - presenting Yedda, a network of individuals providing answers to other member questions based on personal and professional expertise. Alternatively, as noted on Yedda’s home page, "Actively finding the best answers from the most relevant people. Just for you."
At first glimpse, I recalled such network and advice columns as Ask.com, Shell Busey’s referral network, Harry Dunbar’s North American Tile and Dear Abbey, all rolled into one.
Inside Yedda
The overall layout of Yedda is very simplistic and cosmetically pleasing in the design to the point even a novice computer user could easily find his/her way around the site. With navigation links "Ask", "Answer", and "Explore" Yedda is definitely in the K.I.S.S. (keep it simple, stupid) category.
The Ask page already has pre-formulated fields that allow you to fill in your question with unlimited space to explain your request in writing or along with pictures and videos. Yedda has topics ranging from alternative, children, pregnancy and even love, to name a few, with the majority of questions being asked on such topics as basketball, cigars, health, love, software and - of course - sex.
Yedda also offers you the opportunity to collaborate with it in a partnership thereby powering your own site with "Branded Yedda Answers". Using your Yedda partnership options, you enhance your brand loyalty and of course increase your personal site revenue based on association. If you are not into the partnering scene, you still have plenty of options available in the Yedda Toolbox from Ask and answer widgets to Facebook applications.
Conclusion
While at first blush, I admittedly was slightly enamoured with Yedda, the relationship soon soured as I began to explore it in depth. While a good concept I personally felt the majority of the questions and answers I perused on Yedda were not worth the time and effort I spent and left me feeling like my time had been greatly wasted. I was unable to find any professionals in their respective fields coming up to the plate to answer questions and the majority of the answers, while perhaps being of good intention, fell far short of the mark.
However, I stand by my initial statement that the ease of use as well as the simplistic design of Yedda deserve praise, but any value the site may have or had has long since dissipated down the cyber toilet. Sadly, I feel Googling any questions I may personally have will produce far greater results that are more meaningful - and I do not even have to join. To the varied networks I first related Yedda to, I apologize for even thinking it was a close comparison even if for a fleeting moment.
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Michael Fidler 
Hi Allen,
Thanks for reviewing Yedda.
I’d like to address your claim that Yedda has poor answer quality. We believe that our main benefit is connecting you, the asker, to people who can share their tacit knowledge. This information or advice cannot be easily found in search engines or on Wikipedia.
If you are looking for a fact and you know how to search, you will probably get a quicker answer by Googling but on Yedda you can get advice or knowledge that isn’t otherwise accessible. These types of questions are asked and answered by Yedda’s community every day. There are no assigned professionals since everyone can be an “expert” on their selected topics.
By the way, we are constantly growing our community through our expanding partner program as well as integration of Yedda into AOL sites (we are a subsidiary of AOL). This expansion connects readers on those sites who are interested in specific topics (like cars, finance or DIY) with the Yedda community.
I had never heard of Yedda before reading your article. I have managed to find solutions to my problems so far and will not likely visit Yedda.
If Yedda wants to get known, they need to do a better job of marketing themselves. The more well known they are, the more likely people are to use it, and the more likely pros with answers will find their way there.