Online advice, offline

The internet can help keep your rabbit healthy

By BBC News Online internet reporter Mark Ward

The net is awash with information but often it is hard to know if what you are reading is worth the webpage it is written on.

Everyone is an expert in something, and we are giving them a market place to really sell that knowledge and experience

Richard Barker, Questico

Now a UK website is starting to use the web to let people looking for advice talk to human experts.

The site, called Questico, has signed up experts on everything from rabbit care to astrology who, for a fee, are prepared to dispense advice down the phone.

Questico is only the latest in a series of websites that are using humans to overcome the deficiencies of the internet.

Ask away

As the number of domains on the internet exceeds 100 million, many surfers are finding it harder and harder to find the information they need on the world wide web.

Now, newly launched website Questico claims it can give people the advice they need using real people rather than text, and is using the web to put the experts it has signed up in touch with surfers.

Since it was set up in June last year, Questico has been signing up and vetting 1,500 experts who are willing to give advice on everything from filing tax returns to coping with the loss of a beloved pet. Websites such as Keen.com, Abuzz.com and Exp.com that do a similar thing in the US are now well established.

Those looking for advice choose an expert via the website. Once they click on their name, the website will set up a phone call between the surfer and their chosen advisor. Calls can be taken via a mobile or through a home phone once it has been disconnected from the web.

Online advice

Experts choose when they want to be called and how much their advice costs per minute. Charges range from as low as 14 pence per minute for advice about aerial photography up to £5.74 per minute for tax advice.

Mulch or compost? Ask an expert.

But Questico managing director Richard Barker said the site was not just about putting professionals in touch with potential clients. He said it gave people a chance to capitalise on the knowledge they had built up as hobbyists.

"Everyone is an expert in something, and we are giving them a market place to really sell that knowledge and experience," he said, adding that subjects that involve a discussion between expert and surfer, such as astrology and health, were likely to prove popular. "The categories that provide more consultative information rather than a single answer are expected to be very successful," he said.

Questico is only the latest to turn to real people to overcome the problems of using the net. Some sites such as About.com have been using people rather than computers to sort and recommend interesting sites for a long time.