Yahoo! UK & Ireland Answers blog

Have you ever seen a great question on Answers that you wanted to tell the world about? Now you can! The Answers team is delighted to introduce a new feature that empowers you, the Answers community, to determine what questions are interesting enough to appear on the Answers homepage. This new feature is called “Stars.”

How does starring work?

You can star a question from either the action bar or from a question listing page. Star any question you think is high-quality and interesting, and that you would like to share. Questions that you star will appear in your starred list located on your public profile page. In addition, when you star a question your nickname will be added to the list of users who have starred that particular question. The list is located on the question’s page, and can be explored by all members of the community, allowing you to find people who are interested in similar topics and questions.

Why should I star?

Starring questions lets the Answers community surface the best questions on the site. When a question is starred, it is automatically nominated to appear in the new “Popular” list on the front page of Answers (check it out!).

Answers’ Popular list is similar to Flickr’s “Interestingness” and the del.icio.us “Hotlist.” Sharing popular content has made these community experiences much better, and we believe our community will benefit from sharing interests with each other.

What’s next?

We are working on many other ways to use starring to further improve the experience on our site. For the next few releases, we will continue to focus on improving the quality of the site and are implementing many suggestions we received from the community.

One feature we are particularly excited about is the ability for Answerers to connect to each other. We will be adding additional functionality to make it easier for you to learn about and connect with other Answers community members in coming months.

We truly appreciate all the great knowledge that is created on Answers every day by all of you. We hope you will enjoy Stars as much as we do and appreciate your feedback!

-Yahoo! UK & Ireland Answers team

“What should we do to free our planet from terrorism?“

– Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, President of India

Wherever you are in the world, it’s almost impossible to ignore the violence taking place in many areas of the globe. What happens in one area has international relevance and consequences, especially with technology bringing us all even closer together.

Now you have the chance to be heard by a world leader on a very important topic of international interest. Indian President, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam would like your thoughts on creating a safer place for everyone to live. Coming up with solutions isn’t an easy task, but getting the dialogue started is a great way to initiate change.

Dr. Kalam previously called upon our youth to find answers and he continues to challenge the Yahoo! Answers community to be involved in finding resolutions to issues that affect us all. Now is as good a time as any to begin the search for solutions.

– Yahoo! UK & Ireland Answers team

Once again, Big Brother fever has struck the UK. This time the infection has come in the “celebrity” strain, though some celebrities are of course, more famous than others.

In the current series, few of the contestants are higher profile than Jermaine “brother of Michael” Jackson. Both a former member of the Jackson 5 and a solo artist in his own right, Jermaine has another quite unique talent: creative child naming.

Growing up with an unusual name can really single-out a child in school, but as a member of one of the US’s most famous families, any Jackson child is likely to be well known. Perhaps that explains Jermaine’s taste in such flamboyant, alliterative children’s names.

First came Jermaine Jr, then Dawn. Jeremy soon followed, as did Jaimy and Jourdyn. Five children might be enough for most fathers, but not Jermaine, who soon was welcoming Jaffar to the family. Jermaine then took his child-naming abilities to new heights, christening the next arrival Jermajesty.

Such heights must have had an effect on Jermaine as for his eighth child he broke from his alliterative tradition to name him … Dave. Thankfully, tradition was not long broken as baby Jesus arrived in this world. Jesus Jackson, that is.

Jermaine’s creative flair brings into focus the wonderful world of celebrity children’s names. As Wafflebox’s question highlights, there are some very creative names out there. Consider Frank Zappa’s eldest child Moon Unit, Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin’s Apple or David Bowie’s Zowie Bowie.

Of course babies’ names can have unfortunate connotations and Answers users have been keen to avoid them. According to MJ, names like Calvin (meaning: little bald one), Cameron (meaning: crooked nose) and Campbell (meaning: crooked mouth) aren’t ideal. But that doesn’t mean you can’t be creative. Alexandria, Anastasia or Azariah anyone?

So if you’re thinking of naming a child, think long and hard. Think very carefully. Think of Jermaine Jr, Dawn, Jeremy, Jaimy, Jourdyn, Jaffar, Jermajesty, Dave and of course, Jesus.

– Yahoo! UK & Ireland team

A big congratulations is in order for Huggywell, a trained nurse, mother, grandmother and also our featured user of the week! With over 80,000 points and nearly 5,000 best answers, she has provided a great contribution to Answers with her expert knowledge and enthusiasm.

A former Ward Sister, Huggywell is a frequent visitor in the Health category, giving wisdom and advice on topics ranging from the best form of exercise to take up to information on specific illnesses. Whether they are questions about general wellbeing, such as the seven pillars of health or ones about specific symptoms, Huggywell is always ready to offer her personal diagnosis!

As well as having experience in the medical sector, Huggywell has a passion for aquatic life. Looking after hundreds of fish has allowed her to help others with their pet queries. She can also be found browsing other categories, guiding and even giving away useful CV writing tips!

In her own words, Huggywell says: “I am a bit of an information junkie and do research my answers and I always try to give a website link where it is appropriate. The trouble is that I often linger, reading and learning a bit more about the subject. I try to answer a hundred questions a day, but sometimes answer more!” Well, it’s no surprise then that she currently holds the 2^nd position on the UK leader board!

We’d like to thank you for your great contribution, Huggywell, and hope you’ll continue to impart your wisdom on Answers!

–Yahoo! UK & Ireland Answers team

2006 was the year that saw the growth of user-generated content (such as the knowledge you all create on Answers) and Web 2.0 came of age. You are changing the nature of the information age. Blogs and online videos are bringing events to light in a more immediate and effective way. It is your creations, content, experiences and wisdom that have transformed the way information is communicated and shared. We are the new age citizens of the new found digital democracy!

Time magazine has recognised this achievement and awarded each and every one of us who participate online as their Person of the Year 2006!

In discussing Web 2.0 and the growth of user-generated content, a particular quote from Time really emphasizes the spirit of Answers: “This is an opportunity to build a new kind of international understanding, not politician to politician, great man to great man, but citizen to citizen, person to person.”

This is exactly what Answers is about. Allowing person-to-person communication and sharing of knowledge that everyone can participate in. Since Answers was fully launched in April, it has grown to over two million users per month in the UK alone. And remember, Answers is a purely global service!

Thank you all for making Yahoo! Answers such a great place to be in 2006 and we hope you will continue making it THE place to find knowledge on the web in 2007.

–Yahoo! UK & Ireland Answers team