Awesomely cool service. Wish I had thought of this - I've often needed it. The story made no mention of how revenue is generated by the company, but I would imagine the wireless carriers are paying them pretty big for increasing the # of text messages sent/received. Free service to customers (other than voice/text charges).
Currently ChaCha employs 10,000 people to research the answers and send them out. Pays $.20 per answer. I know of some people who might fit well there. But the answers given have to be factual.
Note: I tried it yesterday for the first time - they didn't answer my question, but sent me some web link...have to check that out??
www.chacha.com
QuoteWall Street Journal technology columnist Walter Mossberg writes in a column today that the ChaCha Web browser is "a fun and useful service."
Answers supplied by ChaCha, the Carmel startup founded by tech entrepreneur Scott Jones, generally were fast, accurate and useful, the influential columnist said.
By calling 800-2chacha, Mossberg was able to find local weather, Peyton Manning's salary and the sodium content of a Big Mac.
Its weaknesses are inconsistent service and an inability to automatically determine the caller's location, Mossberg said.
Inconsistency was caused by the part-time workers ChaCha pays to find answers submitted by callers. When asked for the best Mexican restaurant in Washington, D.C., ChaCha directed Mossberg to a restaurant he said most locals wouldn't have chosen.
However, the free service allows follow-up calls for clarification or additional information.
ChaCha plans to add the ability to automatically determine the caller's location, he noted. That way the caller could simply ask the location of the nearest drug store.