Question-and-answer website Quora has begun launching verified profiles in order to boost user's confidence in answers and bring in new members.  Their first officially verified member is President Obama, who has answered three previously submitted Affordable Care Act questions to push his agenda on health care before the March 31st deadline.  Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, and actor Ashton Kutcher will also get the authenticating blue check mark when asking or delivering questions on one of Quora’s 500,000 topics.  

Quora was launched in early 2010 and has a diverse catalogue of intelligent, well-researched views on the universe.  Although they have managed to raise around $71 million, Quora has still struggled a bit to receive breakout traffic and consistent mainstream usage.  According to certain third-party services, they get about 1 million monthly users, although last May the startup tripled across all metrics.  

This step is Quora’s big effort to push into the realm of relevant social media.  The celebrity fan base is where they hope consumers will grow and develop unique content.

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