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"As president of Geben Communication, Heather Whaling provides public relations and social media services to small- and mid-size businesses. She's also a public relations blogger, speaker and co-moderator of #pr20chat on Twitter.   \nQuora \u2014 the community-driven Q&amp;A repository \u2014 is certainly getting a lot of buzz right now. Even though it's known as a \u201Csocial network for knowledge,\u201D Quora isn't just for the tech elite. Outside of the tech-centric or off-beat topics, there is an abundance of resources that appeal to a range of tastes.\nIn fact, businesses and non-profits can glean a wealth of information from Quora. Here are a few ways organizations large and small can tap into this active community.  \n\r\n1. Strengthen Customer Experiences\r\n\nMonitor mentions of your company on Quora. Start by searching for your company\u2019s name. If it\u2019s already a Quora topic, follow that topic to receive alerts as new questions are posed. If you answer a question about your company and its services or products, disclose your company affiliation and answer with facts.\nCompanies can deliver customer service via Quora by responding to complaints and criticisms. Additionally, company representatives can serve as resources, as illustrated by Instagram\u2019s CEO, Kevin Systrom, who has answered questions about the app\u2019s origins, name and URL. \n\r\n2. Research the Competition\r\n\nA quick search on Quora can help you keep tabs on the competition: what they\u2019re up to and what others are saying about them. Just ask Bulx.com\u2019s Matt Russo, who explained: \u201CI used Quora to find information on a competitor\u2019s web-based company. The answer was provided by someone who had obviously worked with the company in the past, as illustrated by the in-depth information he shared.\u201D The Quora community is even sharing valuable insights about specific companies\u2019 business models.\n\r\n3. Connect With Journalists\r\n\nWant Mashable or other news sites to cover your company? Quora can help. A number of tech reporters and editors \u2013- including Mashable\u2019s own Ben Parr and Christina Warren \u2013- are offering advice to those seeking media coverage. Before pitching a media outlet, see what intelligence can be gleaned from Quora responses.\nAndy Carvin, senior strategist at NPR, says it won\u2019t be long until non-tech journalists leverage Quora as a reporting tool: \u201CIt can be used for research purposes by reporters, following threads on different subjects to get story ideas and the like. And it's probably just a matter of time before reporters start using it more directly as a sourcing tool, posing questions related to whatever topic they're reporting on.\u201D \n\r\n4. Embrace Long-Form Dialogue.\r\n\nNetworks like Twitter and Facebook have conditioned us to communicate in short bursts of information. Quora embraces long-form communication. The site\u2019s value is in the depth and breadth of knowledge, so think outside the 140-character box when answering questions. Just don\u2019t ramble.  \n\r\n5. Expand Your Network\r\n\nIf you want to connect with new people who share similar interests, follow topics that reflect your own personal interests. Whether you like discussing baseball, technology, politics or gardening, there are like-minded people on Quora for you to \u201Cmeet.\u201D  Just click on the green \u201CFollow Topic\u201D button located at the top of the sidebar on the right. \n\r\n6. Establish Expertise\r\n\nWriting intelligent, relevant answers to key topics on Quora can strengthen how others perceive your expertise. Strengthen your credentials by developing a reputation as a subject-matter expert. You may notice that people will begin to request your input on related topics.\n\r\n7. Shorten the Learning Curve\r\n\nIf you want to research venture funding opportunities or learn how to grow your users from one to 1 million, who better to ask than people with first-hand experience? Multiple conversations on Quora focus on growth strategies and funding (venture capital and angel investing).\nEv Williams, Twitter\u2019s co-founder, offered advice to a Quora questioner looking for information about maximizing South by Southwest (SXSW) opportunities -\u2013 extremely valuable intelligence for startups. \nBut it\u2019s not all tech, all the time. The Quora community can also help you learn how to tie a tie, roast coffee beans or travel with kids.\n\r\n8. Cultivate Existing Relationships\r\n\nSending e-mails with links to articles or blog posts can be an effective way to cultivate relationships. Quora adds a new dimension to this relationship-building tactic. See an open question that fits the expertise of a prospect? Send them a link to the question along with a brief \u201Ctouching base\u201D e-mail. Stay top-of-mind without seeming like a pushy salesperson.\n\r\n9. Mine for Hot Topics\r\n\nLook for themes behind the questions being answered or followed by your Quora network. Identify popular questions relevant to your industry/experience that generate a lot of interest, and use those ideas as inspiration for blog posts, e-newsletters and other communication tools.\nHow else do you see people using Quora? Share your ideas in the comments below.\nMore Quora Resources from Mashable:\n- Why Quora Will Never Be as Big as Twitter- 10 Websites to Watch in 2011- 5 of the Best New User Experiences of 2010- 6 Promising New Companies That Emerged in 2010\nImage courtesy of iStockphoto, Zeffss1"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2011/01/14/get-more-out-of-quora/>