Becoming a ChaCha Guide

First, I filled out some basic info and tax information. Then I had to take a test! It was pretty easy. There were 30 multiple choice questions. Most were quickly accessible from Google search. (I had like 3 Google pages open before I started the test.) Other questions, which were a little harder, were "What would be the best answer to this question?" Those were a bit tough, though I always went for the straightforward, detailed answer. I passed with an 85% and so I got to become a guide! They claim that a "Generalist" makes between 4 and 9 dollars per hour.






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Now I am in SearchU, where I need to watch a bunch of training videos. These summarize how to answer questions, use the site, and how to react to people calling you a moron! *_* I don't know how I would hold up if the people I answered called me names!

I later learned that every question goes to a different guide, so any responses wouldn't be aimed at you, it would really be at the last guide who answered, and they might never find out the client didn't like their question! Regardless, if you are a generalist or specialist, your job will be to find the answers to questions, not deal with angry poeple! The other role, expeditors, have some automatic answers to mean questions/statements!






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OOh Ahh! You need to download Firefox, as well as a special toolbar just for use with ChaCha and take a test! *GASP* You get ten sample questions, which you have to answer just like any other. All the sample videos in SearchU made it sound like you could answer these questions in under 2 minutes! Needless to say, NONE of my answers were complete in 2 minutes or less. My best might have been just under 4 minutes. I did make sure to have impeccable spelling and grammar on every answer and add the "ChaCha!" greeting.






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After four days of anxious waiting, I got my results. I passed! I am now a for-real ChaCha Guide!

To make a long story short: 4 to 9 dollars/hour is an exaggeration
But that doesn't mean it is not worth while.

So far, I haven't made a lot of money. I technically became a paid guide on March 29th, 2009. As I write this, I have only been a guide for a week and a half. I have been on the ChaCha system for about three total hours and answered about 30 questions. My total is now around $4.50. Right now, I still take between 4-12 minutes to answer a question. There are a lot of helpful guides on their forum, some of which make hundreds of dollars a month! I am a multitasker, so I was also working on this lens for part of my ChaCha time. As I start getting more used to ChaCha and keeping a schedule for logging on, I will post more about my earnings.

I think that Squidoo and ChaCha naturally go hand in hand for several reasons. The best one is that The questions people ask are sometimes so interesting, it is worth making a lens on that topic. It is like a constant stream of topics that are interesting (since people are asking) and not common knowledge (since people obviously don't know the answer.)

When you answer a ChaCha question, you need to cite a source. Now for facts and figures, nothing beats a .gov or .edu website. However, if you happen to have an informative lens covering a slightly more opinion based question, then why not *gasp* cite your own wonderfully well written lens!?!

Thirdly, sometimes traffic is a little slow on ChaCha, either because there are more guides logged on than questions, or because your quality rating is low since you have sloppy answers. Now the ChaCha tools take up a LOT of cpu and ram and internet loading capabilities, but if you have a good enough computer and connection, then why not have Squidoo open in another window? Then you get the instant gratification of your 10 cent question commission, and a little bit of work on your long-term projects of Squidoo lenses! Squidoo and ChaCha are definitely a match made in heaven!