We often call out Madison Avenue for not understanding the importance of matching a great domain with a natural product, so when we see a perfect match, we have to give props.
KGB.com a great domain due to it being the same 3 letters of the former Soviet Union’s spy agency, the equivalent to the CIA.
So something known as an intelligence agency, matched up with its ““Ask Us Anything” service, is an example of matching up a perfect domain with the exact application you would expect.
The results have been quite impressive.
In 2008 alone, KGB.com “served more than 100 million consumers globally and answered nearly a Billion questions”
Now KGB.com just rolled out its texting platform, where you can just text your question to them and they text you back an answer.
The text number is 542542 and of course spells out KGBKGB.
These guys clearly get it.
KGB.com according to its website was founded in 1992, (the whois date in 5/1993) is a “privately held, New York-based company and the world’s largest independent provider of directory assistance and enhanced information services. During its seventeen-year history, kgb has built some of the most successful and recognizable retail brands in the telecommunications and enhanced information services sector in Europe, including The Number 118 118 in the United Kingdom and Le Numero 118 218 in France, both of which have the largest market share in their respective markets. kgb is also the biggest and fastest-growing independent wholesale directory assistance service provider in the U.S. KGB has pioneered the development of a broad range of wholesale and retail information services beyond traditional directory assistance services, including call completion, movie listings, train schedules, price comparisons, and “Ask Us Anything” service across multiple platforms, including mobile and landline phones,SMS and the Internet. In 2008, kgb won the Pelorus Award for the Best Text Directory Information Service in the United States.”””
Impressive stuff.
And it all started with the perfect domain.
By the way the company seems to be hiring people to work at home and answer questions for them. In this hard economic time, you might know someone who could use such a gig. If you or someone you knows wants to apply for a job with them, they can do so by clicking here.
Back when Google Answers came out, I had wanted to be a researcher — sounds like such a great job to help people find information they’re looking for from the comfort of your office chair and setting you own hours.. At 99 cents per message, pretty need they were able to turn finding answers into a billion dollar business 🙂
Nice use of KGB
They must spend an absolute fortune advertising 118 118 on UK TV, it seems to be on quite a few times everyday – they also own 118.com, 118118.com and text118.com.
KGB is always hiring. I applied several months ago. It’s kind of like a quiz. Took me about 4 or 5 times before I passed it. Then you get an email that they don’t need anyone right now but they’ll keep you in mind. Then a few weeks later (at least for me) they want you but you have to go through their larg course that they send you through email. You have so many days to learn the info in it and take another test. I didn’t even bother. I don’t think they pay much. I think you also only work about 5 hours a day during the shift you like. I remember they encourage houswives and retired people.
They pay .10 for every question you answer, payout at $40, deposit to your bank account.
Ouch.. They charge $0.99 and only pay out $0.10 🙁
Would have been something fun to do in my spare time if they paid like $0.50 or so — I enjoy finding information for people on the net but not for a McWage.
Reece
The cell companies take a chunk out of the $.99 cent charge, that’s the gross cost, not the net the provider gets
Thought the same thing Reece its equity by the way, finally started the blog so posting under that. I mean even if you said ok give me the .10 can you get 30 to you in an hour ? I mean that’s $3 an hour McDonalds pays a lot more.
WTF
Unlike McDonald’s your not sitting at a store.
Your at your house doing what you do and then a question comes in, you spend 2-3 mintues to find the answer on Google and go back to what your doing.
True but you need a lot of .10 for that to be worthwhile Michael. Most teens I know laugh at minimum wage, this is sub minimum wage. I like the concept, I actually do this for free for a few people and thought it cool, a few other businesses tried this and could not turn a profit.
The idea of working from home sounds cool, but it does seem like it would take a long time for those $0.10 to add up. I’m surprised that the KGB model even works, considering how easy it is to Google something…with the new smart phones you can just get online and find the answer yourself, no?
There are things I would pay tens of dollars for finding it. I was sorry when Google closed answers…