Guide Note
ChaCha is a free mobile question and answer service that allows users to ask any question in conversational English by voice or text and receive a text message answer in return.
Questions are answered by ChaCha Guides, individuals trained and certified by ChaCha, who utilize the Web to find and send answers to users.
Fast Facts
- Founders: Scott A. Jones and Brad Bostic
- Year Established: 2006
- Raised $6 million in development funds
- Partly funded by Bezos Expeditions, Jeff Bezos' personal investment firm
- Industry: Internet
- Phone: 1.800.820.0827
- Headquarters: Carmel, Indiana
- Products: Mobile answers service
Key Dates
- September 1, 2006: Alpha launch of social web search service
- November 6, 2006: Beta launch
- January 3, 2008: Launch of textChaCha, mobile question and answer service
- April 1, 2008: Social web search service discontinued
How It Works
- OPTION 1: Send question via text message to ChaCha (242242)
- OPTION 2: Leave question following the voice prompt by calling 1.800.2ChaCha (1.800.224.2242)
- OPTION 3: Type question into ChaCha website
- Receive answer from ChaCha Guide via text message
History
When initially launched in 2006, ChaCha functioned as a web-based social search engine. Users would enter a search query, and answers would be returned by a human guide. The company's social search function was discontinued in 2008. ChaCha now focuses exclusively on answering questions via mobile devices.
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