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Welcome to the official company blog for Ask.com,  where our employees are discussing everything from  the latest internet & mobile trends to what’s going on  here at Ask.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Wishing You A Happy Valentine’s Day!

All of us at Ask.com want to wish you lovely Valentine’s Day! Lot’s of people have questions about this holiday, have you ever wondered who St. Valentine was? Or how this holiday began? Or what other countries celebrate V-Day? If so, just Ask!

How do you plan on spending Valentine’s Day this year?

Emily Kidder, Knowledge Engineer

Sunday, February 12, 2012

The Show Must Go On…

Sunday night the biggest musical artists from all over the world came together at the Grammy Awards to celebrate the best in music, but also mourned the passing of one of music’s most legendary voices, Whitney Houston, who passed away on the eve of the Grammys at the Beverly Hilton. 

Congratulations to Adele and all the winners at the 2012 Grammy Awards!

And Whitney Houston, your awe-inspiring voice will be missed and remembered forever. Rest in peace.

-Emily Kidder, Knowledge Engineer

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Sharing My Experiences at the Women in Business Series

I always wondered what it would be like to be on a talk show. Sitting in your chair, with your glass of water, being chatted up by the host or hostess. Well, I got a little taste of that when I recently spoke at Pandora for their Women’s Speaker Series, and it was a blast!  Amanta Conti, who I used to work with at Ask, played Oprah and I was her guest.  Despite being neighbors to Ask headquarters, it was my first trip to the Pandora offices. They gave us the full tour, complete with Specialities cookies, YUM! I enjoyed sharing the experiences throughout my career as well as Funnovation - the exciting experiment we’re conducting at Ask these days using Improv to spark innovation through collaboration.  It was great to see the women (& men!) in the room nod their heads as I talked about gender differences in self promotion and in risk taking with the sharing of ideas.

Did you know that women make up only 13% of C-level positions in the corporate sector? A statistic like that makes it easy for me to see how important it is for women in business to serve as mentors and role models for young girls. These stories seemed to resonate with folks and especially with the mother’s in the room. We chatted afterwards about the struggles to find toys in the marketplace that strengthen analytical skills in young girls the way video games and sports do for boys. It is important for girls to learn that it is okay to break things in order to strive for creativity and innovation. If you know of any toys that strengthen these skills, please pass them on to me on Twitter at @LtotheK and I’ll share them with my new friends at Pandora. Seems there is definitely a market opportunity there for educational toy developers out there!

I hope you enjoy the interview, I had a great time doing it. Amanda and the Pandora team were great hosts and I look forward to working more closely with them to bring events like the screening of Miss Representation to our employees soon.

[ http://player.vimeo.com/video/36381951?byline=0

Lisa Kavanaugh at Pandora from TeamJaded on Vimeo.

Lisa Kavanaugh, Chief Product & Technology Officer 

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Need Valentine’s Day Ideas? Ask Users Give Their Advice!

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Better bundle Up For 6 More Weeks Of Winter!

In tradition of Groundhog Day, Punxsutawney Phil the Groundhog emerged from his burrow around 7:30am ET and saw his shadow, which which means we will have six more weeks of winter.

Punxsutawney Phil is not the first Groundhog to predict the beginning of the Spring season, this tradition started among Pennsylvania German communities in the 18th and 19th centuries. Although the tradition may seem silly to some, thousands of people gathered in Pennsylvania to see what Phil’s prediction would be this year. If you missed the main event, check out the live stream here.

Sheree Polonsky, Public Relations 

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Poll Question: Facebook IPO

Hey All! We are playing with the idea of using polls on our blog to gauge how our users feel about certain topics. Check out our first poll below! What do you think? 

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Countdown to the Oscars

Hollywood is all abuzz this morning, because the nominations for film’s most prestigious awards were announced.  Martin Scorsese’s Hugo was honored with 11 nominations, and The Artist was close behind with 10.  So which nominations were a surprise, and who got snubbed this year? Many are happily surprised with the supporting nominations for popular comedy actors Melissa McCarthy and Jonah Hill, and agape at the lack of Best Actor nomination for Leonardo DiCaprio and his performance as J. Edgar Hoover. 

So who do you think will win this year’s top Oscar honors? Will the showdown between good friends George Clooney and Brad Pitt end in one taking home the coveted statue, or will newcomer to the Oscar scene Jean Dujardin best them both for his turn as a silent film actor in The Artist?  Will Meryl Streep win her third Oscar for portraying Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady, or will Michelle Williams triumph for becoming Marilyn Monroe in My Week with Marilyn? Here at Ask.com, we’ll be watching the show on Sunday February 26, and updating our answers live to make sure we have the most up-to-date info possible!  And in the meantime, there are so many movies to watch!

Emily Kidder, Knowledge Engineer/Answer Geek

Monday, January 16, 2012

Thank you, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.â€Â 

― Martin Luther King, Jr.

Sunday, January 1, 2012

New Year = New Chance

Happy New Year, Friends!

So, I was going to write a post yesterday on New Years Eve, reflecting on the year behind us, on the Firsts, the Lasts and the Never-agains…

But then I thought, we’re all inclined to look back anyway, and I’m sure you all did enough of that over the holidays. I’d rather look forward. Because this year is going to be exciting. I’ve got a feeling that we’re on the verge of something great - it’s always after a slump that people soar to new heights. 

We’ve finally made it truly into a new decade, leaving a lot of old global baggage behind. It’s a work in progress, but the page has been turned. I feel it about the world as a whole when I watch the news, and I feel it when I talk to people every day about our work at Ask.  

The oracle of popular culture herself hit the nail on the head:

“Cheers to the New Year and another chance to get it right.” - Oprah Winfrey.

Couldn’t have said it better. This is it, friends: Another chance to get it right. I don’t need a list of resolutions, my only goal is working harder to get it right. 

Here’s to a great year ahead. Thank you for being with us and let me know what you think we can do to get it right in 2012.

Much love,

Robbie Waeschenfelder, Director, Marketing

Friday, December 30, 2011

Shhhhh…. Popular Q’s We Kept Secret Until Now

Even though the year is quickly coming to an end, we still have some fun popular questions of 2011 that want to share with you. At the beginning of the month, we released the top questions asked on Ask.com along with the top predictions of 2012 - but there were quite a few celebrity questions that were a little too juicy to share with the media! Here is a glimpse at what people were really asking us…

Is Justin Bieber gay?

Is Kim Kardashian’s butt real?

Is Lady Gaga a man?

Did Lindsay Lohan have plastic surgery?

How much does Beyonce weigh?

Will Charlie Sheen overdose?

Is Kate Middleton pregnant?

Did Ashton Kutcher get his girlfriend pregnant?

How did Amy Winehouse overdose?

Did Arnold Schwarzenegger gain weight? 

Where is the video of Ghadafi’s death?

Does Obama smoke pot?

Sheree Polonsky, Public Relations 

Recent Posts

Wishing You A Happy Valentine’s Day! The Show Must Go On… Sharing My Experiences at the Women in Business Series Need Valentine’s Day Ideas? Ask Users Give Their Advice! Better bundle Up For 6 More Weeks Of Winter! Poll Question: Facebook IPO Countdown to the Oscars Thank you, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. New Year = New Chance Shhhhh…. Popular Q’s We Kept Secret Until Now

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