Quora, the user-generated question-and-answer site founded in 2009, is expanding into blogging, with an emphasis on mobile content.
Following its announcement last month that it was expanding its mission to “share and grow the world’s knowledge,” the site announced on Wednesday that users may now create blogs. Also, an iPhone app that mimics the desktop and laptop writing experience with a rich-text editor (as opposed to the more typical plain text editors on mobile devices that rarely allow the user to do much more than type) will be available “in the next few weeks,” according to a press release.
Marc Bodnick, who works in product marketing, community, and business organization at Quora, says the key difference from other blogging platforms is that it uses the same distribution system as Quora’s Q&As, channeling readers to content through topics of interest (there are currently over 300,000 of them) rather than through individual bylines. “Active users” of Quora’s Q&A platform, Bodnick says, can get hundreds of thousands of views each year. “You’re gonna be able to attract a big audience immediately,” Bodnick says, “even if nobody follows you.”
“We’re super excited about blogs, and as part of this, we’re really excited about mobile blogs,” Bodnick says.
It sounds like a prettier Reddit that seeks the traffic draw of the Huffington Post’s cadre of unpaid bloggers — though Bodnick says he prefers to avoid comparisons. “People take what they write quite seriously,” Bodnick says; “the site, generally, is a very positive place to share thoughtful knowledge.”
Sara Morrison is a former assistant editor at CJR. Follow her on Twitter @saramorrison.