Branch offers a new way to talk to each other online. On this platform you can convene a few people from your social network to talk about issues they know or care about and get feedback from people you trust about your ideas.

Ask.fm is a simple Ask and answer service, much like Formspring, where your Facebook, Twitter and other social networks friends engage with you through personal Q&A.

Friend.ly – Friend.ly is a place to explore friendships and discover people beyond the boundary of your social network. The best way to discover and meet new people, of course, is to talk to them, and there’s really no better conversation starter than a question.

eEtiquette – The digital lifestyle is changing our lives and our behavior. Today the kind of questions we face include “Is it okay if I ignore a ‘friend request’ on Facebook?”, “Is it impolite to put my cell phone on the table in the restaurant?” or “How long can I use the free WiFi in the café without ordering anything?”.

Now we do have an eEtiquette with 101 dos and don’ts for everyday digital interaction. It has been developed after several months of intensive research work and numerous workshops with participants from more than 12 countries.

Jig – Jig is a website, one that helps you with your needs– by making it easy to share them with people who can help solve them.

Formspring.me – Don’t let the simple design of this site fool you. Formspring.me is a useful tool that helps people find out more about each other through sharing interesting & personal responses. Direct Q & A is the key concept of Formspring.me and results can be both surprising and insightful. Use this tool to find out more about the university or college you applied to, maybe even a restaurant you thought about trying, or a company you would like to work at.

Prizes.org – Sign up with your Facebook or Twitter account, post a question or a task and offer whatever reward you feel is fair. Prizes is a peer-to-peer Q&A platform where users post inquiry contests others take part in, which means both sides have to gain from this cool service. This site offers an upgraded version of the answers concept, which is why I believe Prizes.org has a serious chance of exceeding Yahoo Answers in terms of honest assistance (as opposed to “lol” and such answers you usually get in such places).

Askives – Part Q & A, part archive, Askives offers an answers hub for questions of all sorts, and users can comment on all of Askives’ answers.

This service has lots of great things going for it, including a large and diverse Q & A topic base (including who, what, where, how and why), beautiful design and simplicity. However, after taking Askives for a serious test drive, I feel there’s lots to be done to improve this ambitious website. First, who is behind this site? No About Us section can be found, and even Askives’ Terms of Use is not yet linked to any relevant content.

Secondly, I’ve had more irrelevant than relevant answers to questions I’ve submitted. Askives sure looks great, but when it comes to the bottom line, Yahoo Answers and Quora offer much better service. Sorry, Askives team.

GoPollGo – Everyone loves posts. Even when I’m not voting for or against the relevant issue, it’s always interesting to see what’s the trend among voters. Now there’s an easy and fun way to create, vote on and share polls of your choosing, thanks to GoPollGo. You can use this platform to find an honest reponse to a question you may have, or to stir a healthy discussion in the community. My personal favorite popular poll is When you have a question, where do you look first? GoPollGo is particulalry useful to researchers both novice and experienced, as much of the research in social studies is based on anonymous polls.

Creating your own poll is easy as voting. Simply sign in with either Twitter or Facebook connect and hit Create New Poll. Here’s how simple it is to get your poll on its way:

Gather – This site offers a totally different approach to staying up to date with what’s going on in the world and in our life. It is “the place where millions and millions of people come for fresh perspective on what’s happening now. Gather members can share their own views and join in conversation with others who share their interests.” Thanks to their broad network of talented freelance writers and dedicated members, Gather offers great content for over 15,000 (!) groups.

See this cool gardening group I found on Gather. I think I’ll join this group to get some much needed tips on how to keep my plants alive and well…

SodaHead – This online dialogue hub is described as “a dynamic discussion community where you can discover, debate and discuss issues that get you fired up.” Explore users’ submitted questions and discussions in various topics (news and politics, entertainment, science, lifestyle and humor), or start your own thread.

SodaHead is a nice break from the various Q&A sites out there. As you will see in the screen shot below, its look & feel, the added features and the large user community make it an appealing go-to site for all those curious and support-seeking souls out there.

Experience Project – If you feel your life has thrown you into an unusual situation (positive or challenging), there’s now a caring interactive community you can share your story with, get feedback and find the strength to march on with confidence. Experience Project is “a comfortable and supportive place for individuals to share and connect with others around the things that matter to them most.”

To give an example of the touching stories you will find on Experience Project, read The Life Of An Army Girlfriend, which many women all across the US can identify with. Visit groups of specific themes or explore over 24 categories of interesting, poignant experiences people like you and me go through. There are also a Confessions section if you wish to get that load off your chest (and mind), and a Q&A page.

In short, the Experience Project is a most inviting venue to help people cope with their situation, or for you to make use of the cushioned support of the site’s community to deal with yours.