What Do People Ask Social Networks? Meredith Ringel Morris, MSR Jaime Teevan, MSR Katrina Panovich, MIT

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Questions About People’s Questions What questions do people ask? – How are the questions phrased? – What are the question types and topics? – Who asks which questions and why? Which questions get answered? – How is answer speed and utility perceived? – What are people’s motivations for answering?

What Is Known About Question Asking Collaborative search [Morris & Teevan] Searching v. asking [Evans et al.; Morris et al.] Expertise-finding [vark.com; White et al.; Bernstein et al.] Online question answering (Q&A) tools – Question type [Harper et al.: conversational v. informational] – Response rate [Hseih & Counts: 80%] – Response time [Zhang et al.: 9 hours; Hseih & Counts: 3 hours] – Motivation [Raban & Harper; Ackerman & Palen; Beenan et al.]

Survey of Asking via Status Messages Survey content – Used a status message to ask a question? Frequency of asking, question type, responses received Provide an example – Answered a status message question? Why or why not? Provide an example 624 participants – Focus on Facebook and Twitter behavior

Questions About People’s Questions What questions do people ask? – How are the questions phrased? – What are the question types and topics? – Who asks which questions and why? Which questions get answered? – How is answer speed and utility perceived? – What are people’s motivations for answering?

Questions: Phrasing Questions short (75 characters, 1 sentence) 18.5% of phrased as a statement I need a recommendation on a good all purpose pair of sandals. Often scoped – 1 out of 5 directed to “anyone” Anyone know of a good Windows 6 mobile phone that won’t break the bank? – Network subset Hey Seattle tweeps: Feel like karaoke on the Eastside tonight?

Questions: Types Type%Example Recommendation29% Building a new playlist – any ideas for good running songs? Opinion22% I am wondering if I should buy the Kitchen-Aid ice cream maker? Factual17% Anyone know a way to put Excel charts into LaTeX? Rhetorical14% Why are men so stupid? Invitation9% Who wants to go to Navya Lounge this evening? Favor4% Need a babysitter in a big way tonight… anyone?? Social connection3% I am hiring in my team. Do you know anyone who would be interested? Offer1% Could any of my friends use boys size 4 jeans?

Questions: Topics Topic%Example Technology29%Anyone know if WOW works on Windows 7? Entertainment17%Was seeing Up in the theater worth the money? Home & Family12%So what’s the going rate for the tooth fairy? Professional11% Which university is better for Masters? Cornell or Georgia Tech? Places8% Planning a trip to Whistler in the off-season. Recommendation on sites to see? Restaurants6%Hanging in Ballard tonight. Dinner recs? Current events5% What is your opinion on the recent proposition that was passed in California? Shopping5%What’s a good Mother’s Day gift? Philosophy2%What would you do if you had a week to live? Missing: Health and Pornography M i s s i n g : H e a l t h a n d P o r n o g r a p h y Religion, Politics, Dating, Finance R e l i g i o n, P o l i t i c s, D a t i n g, F i n a n c e

Questions: Who Asks What Type Recommendation Opinion Factual Rhetorical Invitation Favor Social connection Offer Topic Technology Entertainment Home & Family Professional Places Restaurants Current events Shopping Philosophy men women old young Twitter Facebook

Questions: Motives for Asking Topic%Example Trust24.8%I trust my friends more than I trust strangers. Subjective21.5%Search engine can provide data but not an opinion. Thinks search would fail 15.2% I’m pretty search engine couldn’t answer a question of that nature. Audience14.9%Friends with kids, first hand real experience. Connect12.4%I wanted my friends to know I was asking the question. Speed6.6%Quick response time, no formalities. Context5.4%Friends know my tastes. Tried search5.4%I tried searching and didn’t get good results. Easy5.4%Didn’t want to look through multiple search results. Quality4.1%Human-vetted responses.

Questions About People’s Questions What questions do people ask? – How are the questions phrased? – What are the question types and topics? – Who asks which questions and why? Which questions get answered? – How is answer speed and utility perceived? – What are people’s motivations for answering?

Answers: Speed and Utility 94% of questions received an answer Answer speed – A quarter in 30 minutes, almost all in a day – People expected faster, but satisfied with speed – Shorter questions got more useful responses Answer utility – 69% of responses helpful

Answers: Speed and Utility Type Recommendation Opinion Factual Rhetorical Invitation Favor Social connection Offer Topic Technology Entertainment Home & Family Professional Places Restaurants Current events Shopping Philosophy Fast Unhelpful No correlation

Answers: Motives for Answering Motive%Example Altruism37.0Just trying to be helpful. Expertise31.9If I’m an expert in the area. Question15.4Interest in the topic. Relationship13.7If I know and like the person. Connect13.5Keeps my network alive. Free time12.3Boredome/procrastination. Social capital10.5I will get help when I need it myself. Obligation5.4A tit-for-tat. Humor3.7Thinking I might have a witty response. Ego3.4Wish to seem knowledgeable. Motives for Not Answering - Don’t know the answer - Private topic - Question impersonal M o t i v e s f o r N o t A n s w e r i n g - D o n ’ t k n o w t h e a n s w e r - P r i v a t e t o p i c - Q u e s t i o n i m p e r s o n a l

Answers About People’s Questions The questions people ask – Short, directed to “anyone” – Subjective questions on acceptable topics – Social relationships important motivators The questions that get answered – Fast, helpful responses, related to length and type – Answers motivated by altruism and expertise

QUESTIONS? Meredith Ringel Morris Jaime Teevan Katrina Panovich M. R. Morris, J. Teevan, and K. Panovich. What Do People Ask Their Social Networks, and Why? A Survey Study of Status Message Q&A Behavior. CHI M. R. Morris, J. Teevan, and K. Panovich. A Comparison of Information Seeking Using Search Engines and Social Networks. ICWSM 2010 (to appear).