My response to: How does Ask an Expert Stack Up against Stack Exchange - #netlit
2 min read
Unfortunately, Wordpress wouldn't accept my comment in response to Heidi Rader's excellent post contrasting the Ask an Expert system with Stack Exchange. Therefore, I'm going to post it here:
"Heidi, I think you are on target in asking this question. As a web developer, I frequently use Stack Exchange / OverFlow, mostly to ask or see answered questions, but also to contribute answers when I can. I do think there is an issue with Extension professionals seeing these kinds of open platforms as a threat to their expertise, or inviting the possibility of non research-based answers being given. In my opinion, this damages our relevance, since we are not participating in discussions where they are occurring, rather expecting people to come to us when they want an answer.
As an aside, I was at one of the eXtension meetings before it was fully-formed, and most of the IT folks present mentioned or supported a site similar to Slashdot (which was then in its heyday) as a way for our constituents to vote up or down content and provide feedback. There was some resistance along intellectual property lines, as well as the trepidation about inaccurate information appearing alongside Extension information.
The change that made some Ask an Expert questions public is helpful, but I don't think it has resulted in a vibrant platform where users and experts (whether from Extension or not) can freely interact, build reputation, and exchange ideas.
A similar pitch could be made for why Extension professionals should be Wikipedians."
It is my belief that Extension can't afford to wait for people to seek us out - we must be present in the communities (online or real-world) where the discussions and questions are occurring.
