Quora’s Q&A Service Surging

What leads startups to gain momentum and audience? (Waits for experts to reply...)

That's the question and answer model that is Quora -- the once-thought-dead and now-surging Silicon Valley startup. Some, like the Business Insider, are 'bullish.'

In April, Quora was considered hot and got an $86M valuation to get going. In June, it launched -- still considered hot. By winter, it was considered in trouble. And now? Now it's surging with users, gaining followers and garnering write-ups all over the techosphere. Tipping point?

CNet crows that Twitter is the most recent example of adoptive success:

[The] site co-founded by two early Facebook employees, Adam D'Angelo and Charlie Cheever, with users reporting litanies of new followers that they haven't seen since Twitter's youth...

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References around the web about Quora still sound like early-adopters and high-level tech industry types who are playing with a new, somewhat elite, toy.

Some other services have been around, helping answer questions that Google can't.

Aardvark (at vark.com), has been around a while -- owned by Google -- and has a Q&A model based on your already existing contacts and friends. Moreover, Vark delivers answers over instant messaging -- instantaneous convenience and value.

What warrants darling-hood in Silicon Valley and how long does it last? (Waits for answers...)