The beginner’s guide to using Quora

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Quora is a surprisingly useful place to find interesting answers to all sorts of questions. Questions are organized in categories, so you can learn stuff about architecture or astrophysics, zoology or Zorro.

Or pose your own questions. Readers upvote the most valuable answers, which float to the top. Respondents typically share their credentials, which helps in assessing answers’ credibility. 

What’s unique about Quora? 

What I like most about Quora is that answers to questions about specific companies or scientific topics are often answered by people with relevant expertise. For example, Steve Case, the founder of America Online, explained how much AOL spent in the 1990s to mail millions of CD-ROMs to acquire customers. Other AOL alums added details. 

What to use Quora for

Ask. Pose a scientific, historical or cultural curiosity question that’s been on your mind and get a diverse range of free answers. Ask about anything: newsletters, BTS, unusual fruit or anything else you can think of. It’s like Wikipedia in question form.

Search. Type in the name of a company, politician, author, animal or anything else to find a page full of interesting — and sometimes odd — questions and answers. Example: the Angela Merkel page features a mix of input from amateurs, historians and specialists. 

Answer. Sharing your expertise on Quora is easy — once you’ve created a free account, answer any question of interest. You generally won’t earn anything, though in 2021 Quora+ launched to enable subscriptions for premium answers. Some revenue flows back to select answerers. Whether or not you earn anything, you can help curious students or clear up a questioner’s confusion. 

Learn. Pick a subject you’ve always been curious about, from ornithology to knitting, yoga to darts. Subject pages like these are rabbit holes with occasionally intriguing questions and answers. It’s fruitful for serendipitous discovery; if you’re looking for something very specific, Wikipedia is a more direct path.

Laugh. In addition to serious questions, people ask ridiculous things, spotlight amusing Amazon reviews and otherwise share things that are funny, either intentionally or unintentionally. 

3 Quora questions with interesting answers

What are some of the biggest marketing blunders? Answers explain how Tropicana tried disastrous new packaging, Heinz used a QR code with a lapsed URL that led to porn, and Pepsi advertised in China with a baffling message. 
What are the most surreal places to visit? Scroll through for unique places, gorgeous photos, and strange destinations. 
What are some of the most epic photos ever taken? Check out an eclectic visual mix, from historic news photos to an odd photo of the Beatles reading and answering fan mail. 

Caveats

Occasional junk. Like any platform with user-generated content, Quora has junk alongside thoughtful answers to interesting questions. On some questions, the junk dominates — more moderation would be useful.
Marketers. Sometimes jump in to promote their own products, ideas or expertise. Avoiding them adds friction to the experience of using Quora. The site is largely community-run and features are rarely updated.
Uneven coverage. Some topics are well-covered; others are empty. After a decade, some of the site’s pages are aging, like untended gardens.

This article is republished with permission from Wonder Tools, a newsletter that helps you discover the most useful sites and apps. Subscribe here.