The Power of Asking Questions
You’ve heard the phrase so many times it’s become cliché, but there are some clichés that are so true, they’re still useful (and yes I’m aware that’s a cliché too—let’s just let that one slide, OK?).
There are no stupid questions
While I don’t exactly agree with it—lots of people ask really stupid questions—I think the sentiment behind it is good: don’t be afraid to ask questions. Odds are you’ll find the answer to what you’re looking for without having to pay an expert to figure it out for you.
The Internet is probably my favorite place to ask questions. If you’re good at finding info on the web (which I pride myself on) and you aren’t lazy, you can find the answer to any question you can come up with. From tax issues to cooking a shrimp gumbo, the answers are out there.
Here are three ways I’ve used the Internet to ask questions that have saved me time, money, or both.
Busted Camera: M’s camera broke a few months ago and we were both bummed—we love taking pictures. The lens wouldn’t open and all hope seemed lost. I called up Canon support and they were very helpful, but they also told me it would cost $120 for me to send the camera in and have them “look at it.” So I looked up the error message online and found a whole bunch of people had had the same problem. So I actually opened up the camera (which I was nervous about) and fixed it. Boom—we saved $120!
Computer problems: Let’s face it: computers can be a real pain in the ass. Even if you know what you’re doing and know a little programming, they’ll find ways to thwart you and what you’re trying to accomplish (kind of sounds like a soap opera). Anyway, I taught myself everything I know about computers from asking questions and reading stuff online. The beauty of computers is everyone has one and very few problems are unique to you. So the answer is out there. I’ve had coding problems with this site and after coming up empty on Google I just ask people on Twitter and I get a solution within minutes. It’s really incredible and I’ve found that’s one super compelling thing about Tweeting. Use your network to your advantage and share your own knowledge when someone else asks a questions.
Shopping: Buying expensive things can be pretty stressful. Are you getting a decent deal or are you getting ripped off? I pride myself of paying as little as possible when I buy stuff, but I’ve been surprised when I ask around (again, Twitter is great for this). When I realized I was going to buy a new computer, I knew exactly how I was going to do it: Dell. It’s where I bought my last two and I was very happy with them. But I put it out there and got some great suggestions, including the Dell Outlet sore. Boom—you can save hundreds of dollars by buying machines that were never shipped out or have slight scratches on them. Embarrassing as it was, I had never heard of the Outlet Store.
The lesson learned? It’s another cliché, ready for it?
If you have a question or problem, odds are someone else does too.
And if they’ve solved it already, why not take advantage of their experience and take a shortcut to the solution?
Oh and one more tip: don’t ask a question to a lot of people (especially on forums) if you haven’t even done a little bit of research to try to find the answer. People don’t like that and it makes you out to be really lazy.
It’s the equivalent of raising your hand and asking a question five minutes after someone else just asked the very same question.
Not cool.
February 20th, 2009 at 8:35 am
So true. Asking questions is a great learning tool. Don’t be embarrassed about what you don’t know, because you’re about to find out and will never have to ask about that particular thing again.