ChaCha Gets Serious About Revenues. Stops Paying Its Guides. Hah

by Jason Wilk on September 7, 2008

  • ChaCha is a human powered version of what AskJeeves was 5 years ago.
  • Users submit a search (most often a question) via web or mobile , and get a response from a living human who is getting paid to answer questions.
  • They use a distributed strategy of employing the ‘guides’, paying them per response they provide.
  • As of last month, ChaCha has stopped paying ‘guides’ and their forums have since filled up with complaints of people who hope to see a paycheck.
  • Maybe we will see Scott Jones or Brad Bostic, co-founders of ChaCha, this week at the 50.

Finish the sentence: If I ran into these guys, I would tell them to……………..

Made tiny from: TechCrunch.com original post

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  • johnny
    I would tell them that they are embarrassing themselves
  • jordan
    I would tell them that with their shitty business model and ethics, they are comprimising the user generated community and slapping everyone in the face who has contributed to this revolution.
  • Darren
    I love using ChaCha but they are definitely gonna need to come up with a different plan of attack.
  • alice duckett
    I can probably top all of the not being paid stories.I started as a Cha Cha Guide in late May. I have my debit card and pin.They owe me 803.40. It is now Sept. 13. I have sent email after email. I have gotten one response telling me they were contacting FIB and should get paid very soon. That was 10 days ago.I wonder what they consider to be very soon.Ten years?
    I realize these things can sometimes take awhile.But it's been almost 4 months. I feel like I've been ripped off.
  • lily
    I barely became a guide, im owed $170, just got my card and started to look around for this pay me now button. Does it exist? Is it supposed to be there now? Reading all this has got me horrified! Are there any pro-chacha stories?? Should I continue to guide, or is this all a scam? It seems legit, but all I'm seeing is people who are dissatisfied or unpaid!! Help! If anybody can help me, please email me at lilybugme@neomail.com!! Thankyou!!
  • Susan
    I Just tried to sign up as a guide, and password and user name would not go through for the learning University, Is this a scam? Seems they ask for your personal info and then you can’t get on to site. When I called cha cha for info on this, I was told to reboot-LOL
  • Bob
    I have been working at ChaCha since the beginning of May and I have always gotten paid. I just go to the dashboard and hit the PAY ME NOW button and POOF it is there.

    Are you sure you guys know where the button is? I have found that many of the people that say they do not have one just do not bother LOOKING.

    There are VIDEOS, PICTURES, and PDF files that tell where to find the button, and they are in the knowledge base.
  • Klif
    I've been a ChaCha guide (and expeditor) for six months now, and I've never missed a paycheck.
  • glu
    @Klif - great to hear klif. we hope to hear more of these positive reports!
  • john
    @glu - doubtful...
  • Anthony
    I became a guide in July, I have never experienced and problems getting paid. For the past week they have been having some technical difficulties, but it no way does that mean ChaCha "stopped" paying their employees. This article and the source are bogus.
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