JustAnswer.com

[Sheila]

What is it?!


There is an Internet company called JustAnswer.com. It is based in San Francisco, and my computer guy's wife works there. It was founded in 2002, and is rated A+ by the Better Business Bureau. It is doing well, and has a big staff. It runs a huge, international stable of “experts” in various fields. Internet citizens go to the site, and offer to pay whatever they want to get a prompt reply to a question. The most common questions are in the areas of law, health, pets, and car problems.

“Experts” have to pass a short test to get on board, and then, from home, they can choose to answer whichever questions they want. If the consumer “accepts” the answer, the Expert gets some money and JustAnswer gets some money.

JustAnswer has many existing categories for questions (eg Mental Health, Homework), but you can also create a “beta” category on any topic you like. Then, it’s up to you to answer questions in that category, attract customers, and attract other experts. If your beta category becomes successful enough, JustAnswer will turn it into a main category on its homepage and start helping you promote the category.

So, it occurred to us that JustAnswer probably doesn’t know that there’s a pandemic of people having bad reactions to psych meds, and that these people are already flooding the Internet looking desperately for help and information. We checked and, sure enough, JA did not have a beta category for "Antidepressant Withdrawal," so we have started one.

[Sheila]

A liaison between JustAnswer and IAWP?


U.S. antidepressant use has risen 400% in last two decades. Antidepressants are now the most commonly taken prescription drug in adults under 45. Typically, people are not informed at the start of the far-reaching effects of these medications, and how difficult they can be to discontinue.

For various reasons, people are not getting enough help from their prescribing physicians for dealing with these problems. Many, many physicians are still not aware there is a problem. There are methods of making the withdrawal as manageable and safe as possible, and there is now a body of hard-won experience about what to expect and how to mitigate withdrawal symptoms. This information is rarely available from prescribing physicians, but there are people who have become experts through personal experience and through peer counseling in this brand new field.

There is going to be a flood of people coming to the Internet looking for help on these issues, and they will both join the free support forums (like IAWP), and pay for an "expert" to tell them what in hell is going on with their meds. It seems like an obvious business / public education opportunity.

There are many psych meds support forums and blogs out there that JA could liaise with. We also have spotted some current JA Mental Health experts who are already answering psych med w/d questions correctly, and would be good for the new beta category. There's a lot of potential here.

It’s possible that a relationship might be forged between JustAnswer and IAWP, with benefits to each and to the public – referrals to IAWP, earning opportunities for housebound IAWP members, educating JA Experts in the Mental Health, Pharmacy, and (gasp) even Medical categories, more access to information for the public, etc.

We don't know where exactly this is going to lead. We don't have any illusions about getting rich quick this way. We’re more looking at it as a path to something, perhaps something else entirely. But it was very serendipitous how it fell into my lap, and I'm trying to pay attention to things like that. And some experts earn up to $5000 per week -- now, that's the lawyers, whom people expect to have to pay more for.

It may even be that this whole JustAnswer idea is a prototype for something else entirely that we end up doing, and that this is just a stepping stone. Let us brainstorm!

[Sheila]

Become an “Antidepressant Withdrawal Expert”


Please consider signing up as an “expert” on the new “Antidepressant Withdrawal” beta category. Right now, you do not have to take any test or meet any criteria. You just fill in an application form. You are encouraged to use a fictitious username. Your real name and personal contact information are not available to anyone except the JustAnswer staff.

Even if you sign up, you don’t have to answer any questions or do anything until and unless you feel ready. It costs nothing to join.

If you have any questions, suggestions, brainstorms, please post them here on this thread or pm Sheila.

[Sheila]

Foreign language versions of JustAnswer


JustAnswer also runs sites in the following languages, where we could also create an “Antidepressant Withdrawal” beta category --

Spanish >> http://www.justanswer.es/

German >> http://www.justanswer.de/

Japanese >> http://www.justanswer.jp/


They also appear to have a UK-based site >> http://www.justanswer.co.uk/

And they must be working on a French-language site, because the Expert supervisor said so, and I saw an ad for a job on JA’s French site.

[Sheila]

Marketing & Promotion


Promoting the “Antidepressant Withdrawal” beta category as well as IAWP

Barbara and Sheila have signed up as “Experts” for the JA “Antidepressant Withdrawal” beta category. Our mini-profiles are visible to customers, and include the link to IAWP.

Anyone else who signs up with JA from IAWP, please include a link to IAWP in the part of your profile that is visible to customers. Also, if you sign up, you will be sending a signal to JA that this is a wanted category.

There are infinite ways we can promote the JA “Antidepressant Withdrawal” beta category and its link with IAWP.

We might consider using Twitter, Facebook, Google+ >> http://nhne-pulse.org/great-google-resources/

[Sheila]

Earning money at JustAnswer in ways unrelated to “Antidepressant Withdrawal”


1) JA has several dozen main, existing categories in which you can become an expert and earn money from home at your own pace while you are recovering from w/d.

They include: Writing, Homework Coach, French, Math, Computer, Car Repair, Law, Mental Health, Relationship, Parenting, Pets, etc.


2) JA also has a huge number of existing beta categories that you can look at and see if you are interested in. You do not need to meet any criteria to be an expert in a beta category.


3) Lastly, you (or people you know) can create beta categories in any topic of particular interest to you. It doesn’t have to have anything to do with w/d.

[Sheila]

Information given to JustAnswer to create the beta category “Antidepressant Withdrawal”


Name of category

Antidepressant Withdrawal


Main category it’s related to

Mental Health


What words or phrases will people use when asking questions in your category?

antidepressant, anti-depressant, withdrawal, psych med, medication withdrawal, psychotropic, psychotropic medication, drug withdrawal, side effects, adverse reaction, discontinuation syndrome, protracted withdrawal, psychiatric medication, medication reaction, tapering, SSRI, weaning, tricyclic, MAOI, akathisia, iatrogenic, depression, anxiety, insomnia, weight gain, PSSD, post-SSRI sexual dysfunction, anhedonia, depersonalization, derealization, dosage, cognitive impairment, confusion, memory problems, paranoia, agitation, irritability


What product brands or model names will people ask about?

Abilify, ariprazole, Adapin, doxepin, Anafranil, clomipramine, Asendin, amoxapine, Aventyl, nortriptyline, Celexa, citalopram, Cymbalta, duloxetine, Desyrel, trazodone,
Effexor, venlafaxine, Emsam, selegiline, Etrafon, perphenazine, Elavil, amitriptyline, Endep, Lexapro, escitalopram, Limbitrol, chlordiazepoxide, Marplan, isocarboxazid, Nardil, phenelzine, Norpramin, desipramine, Pamelor, nortriptyline, Parnate, tranylcypromine, Paxil, paroxetine, Pexeva, Prozac, fluoxetine, Remeron, mirtazapine, Sarafem, Seroquel, quetiapine, Sinequan, doxepin, Surmontil, trimipramine, Symbyax, olanzapine, Tofranil, imipramine, Triavil, Vivactil, protriptyline, Wellbutrin, bupropion, Zoloft, sertraline, Zyban, bupropion


Questions you expect

I want to get off my antidepressant, but I can't. How can I do it safely?

I think my antidepressant is causing side effects or adverse effects. Is that possible?

Can I just stop taking my antidepressant?


What is an expert in this category called?

Antidepressant Withdrawal Expert


Are there websites people visit when they have questions in this category?

http://www.antidepressantwithdrawal.info/
http://www.paxilprogress.org/forums/
http://survivingantidepressants.org/
http://www.benzobuddies.org/
http://beyondmeds.com/
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/mad-in-america
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SSRI_di...ation_syndrome


Description

Ways to make withdrawal as manageable + safe as possible, how to mitigate withdrawal symptoms. Help from people who have become experts through personal experience and through peer counseling in this new field.


Why is this a good category?

There is a flood of people on the Internet having problems with their antidepressants and searching desperately for information. U.S. antidepressant use has risen 400% in the last two decades. Antidepressants are now the most commonly taken prescription drug in adults under 45. They are being prescribed for everything from shyness and normal bereavement, to vertigo and pregnancy-induced hypertension. In other words, they are being over-prescribed, often in ways that are not FDA-approved. They are very powerful medications and should not be taken lightly. Many people have side effects that impact their quality of life (sleep, sexuality, digestion), or serious adverse effects (agitation, aggression, suicidality), or they try to stop taking the medication, and find it extremely difficult to do so.

For various reasons, people are not getting enough help from their prescribing physicians for dealing with these problems. Many, many physicians are still not aware there is a problem.

[Luc]

That some neat idea there. As soon as I'm in the next stage of WD, I'll most likely join it. Thanks for all that great research and info, Sheila! And truly, folks, not in many places in the whole world will you find so many WD-experts like in here.

[Samsara]

Sheila...........

thank you for posting all this. I will be printing this out sometime next week and will review, once I switch over to my new ISP.


Samsara