+ uclue Launches
Word tonight that a group of former Google Answer researchers have gotten together to form uclue. We’ve posted the full text of the news release here. Direct to the uclue site and FAQ. Unlike other Q&A services including Askville, Yedda.com, Yahoo Answers and the new Q&A service from LinkedIn, to use uclue you ask a questien and then post how much you’re willing to pay for answer. Just like Google Answers. uclue is a fine idea deserving of your attention, However, they aren’t the only source for fee-based research help or getting info professional help for free.

Other Options
You can also find an independent information professional (who provide fee-based research) via the Association of Independent Information Professionals membership directory. As you’ll see, many of these info pros have expertise with specific subjects.

As we have mentioned numerous times on ResourceShelf, many libraries in the U.S. (including the Library of Congress), Canada, U.K. and Australia (to name a few countries) offer FREE, research and reference assistance either via IM, telephone, and/or email. In many cases, 24×7x365.
Examples:
+ California: AskNow
+ Maryland: named AskUSNow.
+ Massachusetts: MassAnswers.
+ New Jersey: QandANJ
In the UK, there is a Enquire and in Australia, Ask Us in Australia. Btw, the Q&A service from the Library of Congress, Ask a Librarian, can be accessed here.

Finally, don’t forget, you can find a massive list of subject specific Q&A services from the VRD. That’s right, get your subject specific query answered by an expert. Many of these services also offer databases of asked and answered questions.
Examples:
+ Geololgy, Earth Sciences, Related Topics via USGS Library (free) ||| Ask-A-Geologist ||| FAQ Database
++ Ask Dr. Math
++ Meteorology, Climate, etc.
++ GlobalSpec, the specialty search tool for engineering info, has a Q&A and Forums feature named CR4.
++ Government Information Online Offers a Free Chat Service

Government Information Online (GIO) is a free national online information service supported by nearly thirty public, academic, and state libraries throughout the United States.

Another service for government info assistance is via phone or e-mail via National Contact Center at the Federal Information Center. They also offer a searchable database of asked and answered questions.

+ eBook Research: JISC and publishers to collaborate on ‘e-books observatory’ (via JISC)

+ One Button Access to Post and Share Using One or More Social Bookmarking Services (via DataMining)
One button to many servces. Save page real estate and offer many services. AddThis.com is a free service.
Direct to AddThis

+ Splashcast Update (via Demo Weather Report)
See Also: What’s Splashcast (via ResourceShelf)?

+ Google Announces Salary Increases and Awards Bonuses for Several Top Execs; Brin, Page, and Schmidt Compensation Remains at $1.00
Each executive listed (except Brin, Page, Schmidt) received a $200,000 salary increase for 2007. Brin, Page, and Schmidt also did not receive a salary bonus.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 6th, 2007 and is filed under Web 2.0. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.