Introduction
Background
Quora is a popular social media platform dedicated to asking and answering questions. Quora is ranked globally as 135th most popular website, and the 62nd most popular in the United States, according to Alexa.com on April 11, 2017. Within the Quora community, a user can answer a question and visually see the number of views others had on the answer. This experiment is to test the different methodologies of answer to questions on Quora to see which will result in the highest number of views.
Statement of Purpose
The purpose of this micro research study is to help the reader understand how to answer a question to receive the highest number of views from the Quora Community.
Hypothesis
Answering a Quora question with a catchy line will result in higher answer views within the two hours.
Methodology
Participants
Participant: Chase Willden
Current Community Views: 127.5k
Current Community Views this month: 5.7k
Total Followers: 47
Snapshot: 4/13/2017 5:30pm
Answer Methodologies
The following experiments will be tested using a modified A/B testing methodology. We will have a control answer where we do not implement the experiment and the other answer will implement the experiment. The theory is that starting the Quora answer with a catchy line will increase the number of views. (See What are some effective tips to get more views on Quora posts/answers/questions?)
Starting with a Catchy Line on a Low View Question
The Control Question: How can I learn faster? (Quora)
Topics: Learning New Things, Psychology, Learning
Views: 754
My answer: Quora
The Experiment Question: How can I learn any skill faster? (Quora)
Topics: Skills, Learning New Things, Psychology, Learning
Views: 660
My answer: Quora
Starting with a Catchy Line on a High View Question
The Control Question: What are the most interesting facts you know? (Quora)
Topics: General Knowledge, Knowledge, Stories
Views: 7,884,370
My answer: Quora
The Experiment Question: What are some mind-blowing facts that sound like ‘BS’, but are actually true? (Quora)
Topics: Mind-Blowing Facts, Sound, Facts and Trivia, List Question
Views: 22,932,087
My answer: Quora
Results
Raw Data
Starting with a Catchy Line on a Low View Question
| Timestamp | Control Views | Control Upvotes | Experiment View | Experiment Upvotes |
| 4/13/2017 6:49 PM | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 4/13/2017 6:59 PM | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 4/13/2017 7:09 PM | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 4/13/2017 7:19 PM | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 4/13/2017 7:29 PM | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 4/13/2017 7:39 PM | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 4/13/2017 7:49 PM | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 4/13/2017 7:59 PM | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 4/13/2017 8:09 PM | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 4/13/2017 8:19 PM | 4 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 4/13/2017 8:29 PM | 4 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 4/13/2017 8:39 PM | 4 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
Start with a Catchy Line on a High View Question
| Timestamp | Control Views | Control Upvotes | Experiment View | Experiment Upvotes |
| 4/13/2017 7:19 PM | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 4/13/2017 7:29 PM | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 4/13/2017 7:39 PM | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 4/13/2017 7:49 PM | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 4/13/2017 7:59 PM | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| 4/13/2017 8:09 PM | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| 4/13/2017 8:19 PM | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| 4/13/2017 8:29 PM | 2 | 0 | 7 | 1 |
| 4/13/2017 8:39 PM | 2 | 0 | 7 | 1 |
Graphs
Starting with a Catchy Line on a Low View Question
Starting with a Catchy Line on a High View Question
Conclusion
Based on the results, as shown in the tables and graphs above, we can see that, asking a question starting with a catchy line will increase your view count on your answer. However, the shocking result about this study was on the Low vs High viewed question. The high viewed questions had millions of views and the low viewed questions had hundreds. The rate of views went higher and faster by about 3x. Our next research will study why this is the case.
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