Help Determine What #Andyasks

Late in 2008 I started asking a question every day on Twitter. I designate it with the hashtag #andyasks and suggest that all those responding do the same. In a November 2008 blog post I talked about what kinds of questions I was planning to ask:

“I have no clear idea what I’ll ask about over time. I’ll try to make andyasks questions varied, and of broad interest. I know that they’ll reflect my interests, which include good writing of all kinds, movies, modern American culture (OK, pop culture), the arts of living well, baseball, technology, and whatever catches my eye in the paper and online.

I imagine that most questions will be lighthearted; there’s more than enough somber material floating around the ether these days. And there will rarely if ever be right vs. wrong answers. This is not intended to be a trivia contest (in the age of Google, how much sport would there be in an online trivia contest?).

I hope you’ll find andyasks to be fun and engaging, and I hope you’ll frequently take the few seconds required to fire off an answer.”

#Andyasks has been great fun for me, and judging from the volume of responses and steady participation of some folk in the twitterverse it’s also been of interest to others.

If you’d like to see the #andyasks traffic, do a Twitter search like this one. I’m working to have each day’s #andyasks questions, responses, and follow-on tweets automatically collected and displayed somehow within andrewmcafee.org; watch this space for updates on this project.

In the meantime, I’d like to ask for your help in coming up with good questions. A few people have asked if there’s a way to suggest new topics and questions for #andyasks. Well, now there is. Leave your proposed #andyasks question as a comment to this page, and I’ll harvest the best of them. If I use yours I’ll credit you by including your Twitter username when I ask the question (if you’d like to be credited a different way or to remain anonymous, please let me know).

I don’t have many rules for the kinds of questions I’ll select, except that I don’t want to start or stoke flame wars. I’ve stayed away from controversial topics like politics and religion, and intend to keep doing so. I also like questions that resonate with a broad audience instead of a narrow one.

If you particularly like someone else’s suggested question, please let me know that, too.

Thanks –  I look forward to hearing from you!

- APM

  • http://twitter.com/vpsingh Praveen @ startups

    should startups chase the next s curve of technology or focus on people oriented business?

  • http://eedious.blogspot.com friarminor

    Reflections: Tell us about your 'finest hour'.

  • http://twitter.com/judypayne Judy Payne

    If IE didn't stand for Internet Explorer, what might it stand for?

  • http://twitter.com/FishMart FishMart

    As Ray Davies of the Kinks asked: If life's for living then what's living for?

  • irahormia

    My question is: What is the best arguments for including social media to bureaucratic governmental institutions?

  • AlexGodden

    Inspired by this article http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/07/black-hole-gadgets/ – what is the most disappointing/ over-hyped/ annoying new technology in recent years?

  • http://twitter.com/sengseng Amy

    Will brick and mortar learning institutions become obsolete? If so, by what year?

  • smcgrath

    What is the most audacious green fraud, myth or greenwashing case?

  • http://twitter.com/jdevoo JP

    green week #andyasks: what is the most radical change you can foresee 10yr from now in your daily life that is a consequence of environmental regulations?

  • melindablau

    This from a journalist working on an article about how social media affects couples relationships. When you're at home with your loved ones, how much time is spent “socializing” (via technology) with others who are not part of your intimate life?

  • dorothybm

    In the light of the 'losing your job via Facebook' story this week what is your example of gross stupidity in the social media/work crossover?

  • johnwpatton1

    What are the main differences between ways of doing business on the East and West coasts?

  • http://www.biske.com/blog/ Todd Biske

    What’s the coolest iPhone app?
    What’s the coolest weekend getaway?

  • bee

    what was your own personal “coolest moment”?

  • http://twitter.com/Erik_Soderstrom Erik

    Does “open science” have a place in our scientific community? Background example: http://michaelnielsen.org/blog/doing-science-on…

  • http://twitter.com/jevharr James Harr

    How can the ROI of social media/networking be firmed up or better defined for the enterprise?

  • http://twitter.com/swichman sandra wichman

    …are our avatars (in play, life and work) nemeses, alter-egos or elegant “wishful thinking?”

  • RuchiBhatia

    Hello Andy ! What are your views on modern Corporations taking a plunge into Open Source Education Model as a Corporate Social Responsibility initiative and offering higher education free to some of the high potential underprivileged individuals who later can be a a good pool of potential recruits for that company ?

  • http://twitter.com/lovelygrape Jinsheng Xu

    I guess you will be interested in finding interesting information. Here is a list of similar blogs to yours: http://similar-site.com/search.php?URL=andrewmc…
    You can use http://similar-site.com/ to find information by doing similar site search.

  • http://acleanlife.org robotchampion

    Andy – I think it would be a great idea to do a financial literacy week. I've been looking into books like Rich Dad Poor Dad and Multiple Streams of income.

    I've formed a google group to discuss this literacy. It's a fascinating topic and one that is never covered in schools, except at the highest levels and only at certain institutions.

    Steve

  • ericjs

    Greetings Andy,

    I am building an alternative transport. community in the Bay Area. I see numerous opportunities, am looking for counsel as to attracting and signaling the adoptors, which I figure not so problematic as devolopments continue apace in an industry-advocacy. Enjoyed listening to your recent HBR podcast and am very involved in joining constituents

  • ericjs

    Steve, you have picqued my interst. Can you send me a link?
    Eric J.

    eric_j_s@comcast.net

  • http://acleanlife.org robotchampion

    Eric – it is very odd that the best books i've read are surrounded by ridiculous ads and money making schemes. Completely ruins the credibility.

    Still information is information, a keen mind can traverse the field avoiding avoiding the pitfalls.

    Here are my two favorites:

    Rich Dad Poor Dad – http://www.robertgallen.com/
    Multiple Streams of Income – http://www.robertgallen.com/

    Also, feel free to email me for more specific questions or to join in.

    steve [at] acleanlife.org

  • prakashd

    Q : why do we have the “brain” in the head only?

  • http://twitter.com/mxo42 Mike O

    The same year the last retail store closes on Madison Avenue…..

  • http://www.northstarnerd.org/ Northstar Nerd (Rich Hoeg)

    Professor: Twitter is a great service, but it is also someone akin to using the shotgun approach as opposed to the rifle. Have you considered trying LinkedIn for some version of AndyAsks? The ability to utilize LinkedIn's more focused demographics might be worth a test.

  • http://www.northstarnerd.org/ Northstar Nerd (Rich Hoeg)

    Professor: Twitter is a great service, but it is also someone akin to using the shotgun approach as opposed to the rifle. Have you considered trying LinkedIn for some version of AndyAsks? The ability to utilize LinkedIn's more focused demographics might be worth a test.

  • Robertandkelleetaylor

    Does being named as a Top 10 recognized brand on the internet on sites such as Facebook or Twitter really mean anything?

    Also, wondering if you could share what are you reading these days with me?

    @RobTaylorTweets

  • Brendan Hanley

    What effects do you believe wikis will have on decision rights within organisations?