What are channels?

• Channels on Factoidz are gathering places for experts in specific topics to come together to discuss, ask questions, and share knowledge. Whether you're looking for answers about Cars, Pets, Investing, or Health, you can find articles, explore discussions, and ask experts any questions you have.
• If you are an expert in a given topic, joining as a member of a Factoidz channel can be a great way to market yourself as an expert and find other like-minded experts and enthusiasts in your topic areas.
• When you join a channel, you have the option of receiving notifications of new articles and / or new discussions. Stay on top of the latest knowledge sharing in your topics any way you want. You'll also get a convenient link in the "Channels" menu for the channels you join.
• When you publish new Factoids, they will also be published to the relevant channels. You select your channels when composing your Factoid, and when your Factoid is published, members and subscribers of each channel you publish into will be notified of your new work.

What is "Authority" in Factoidz channels?

• Authority is an estimated measure of how well an individual knows a given topic. For example, when viewing the Health channel, you'll see a list of top experts, each with an Authority score. The higher this score, the better this person likely knows the topic of health.
• A given expert's Authority is measured on three primary factors:
  • Other peoples' votes for that expert, in the form of ExpertTags granted and vote ups for that expert's Factoids and answers
  • How many articles, answers, and discussions that expert has contributed to the channel
  • Traffic patterns on that expert's articles over time
• So an expert with a high Authority in a given channel is more likely to be an expert in that topic, thus you may decide to place greater weight on the answers they provide.
• You can develop Authority scores in as many topics as you wish.

How do I increase my channel Authority score?

1. Receive ExpertTag votes from others. When people vote up your Factoids, they also have the option of recommending you as an expert in any topic. If someone recommends you as an expert in "personal finance" this has the greatest impact on your Authority score. The ranking of the person granting you the ExpertTag also matters, so that a high ranked user (like a Factoidz Expert or a Factoidz Pro) granting you an ExpertTag matters more than a brand newbie doing so.
2. Publish Factoids in the topic. The more articles you have published in a given channel, the greater your Authority score will be.
3. Publish Factoids in the topic that are popular. While publishing many articles in a topic will help, if your articles generate lots of hits over time, your Authority score will increase even more.
4. Participate in discussion in the topic. Post new discussions, reply to others, comment on Factoids in the channel. Being social and participating in the channel's discussion will also boost your Authority score.