Facebook and Twitter are still the top social networks for marketers and webmasters to be involved in. LinkedIn, too, is a great place to meet professionals and expand one’s network. But Quora is the rising star of the social media. It is a social Q&A service that brings a lot of good things from Twitter, Yahoo! Answers, and other relevant social networks together. Quora can not only help you build yourself as an authority in your niche, it can provide you with ideas for your business and get you answers to your problems. Here are just 5 ways webmasters can use Quora to expand their business:

• Network with others: Quora gives you another way to network with others who may have the same interests or are in the same niche as you. It does have a Twitter like system in that regard. People can follow you to keep up with your latest activity. You can do the same. Of course, you want to put your best foot forward if you intend to be considered an authority on a topic.
• Identify trends: by watching the questions that people are asking and the answers they are providing, you may be able to figure out some trends. If there is a resource that everyone is talking about on Quora all of a sudden, there is no reason you shouldn’t check it out and try to learn from its positives. There is more to trend analysis than that though.
• Come up with product ideas: this is a no brainer. By looking at and studying what people are asking for, you can find out about their needs and wants. Use that information to come up with a new product or reposition your existing one. As the community grows and more people get involved, you will have an easier idea digging up golden information for your next product.
• Incorporate Quora into your content: I have seen many bloggers adopt this approach already. They use top Quora questions and answers to ignite discussions on their own blogs. Going through what people are asking on that site should give you some more content ideas for your own business.
• Bring it all together: the fun thing about Quora is the fact that it lets you link your account to Twitter, Facebook, and even your blog. If you have a ton of followers on Twitter (or friends on Faceb00k), there is no reason you should not leverage those to enhance your presence on Quora.

Quora is a service worth watching in 2011. It is based on a very solid idea. Let’s hope it sticks around.

Twitter is one of the fastest growing Web 2.0 communities around these days. A few months ago, a whole lot of people hadn’t heard of Twitter. But these days, almost anybody you talk to knows what Twitter is. Twitter is a great way to communicate with others and learn a lot of new things. But that’s not even the best part about Twitter. I have said it before and don’t hesitate to say it again: Twitter is a goldmine. It’s provides all of us with more data that we can handle. As long as you are using the right tools and listening the right way, there is no reason you can’t develop new products, ideas, and services that can not only make you money but also provide your customers with exactly what they need.

Twendz is a cool Twitter tool that lets you track conversations on Twitter and find out about the latest trends. The engine automatically goes through the discussions in the community and figures out the most talked about topics. It will also tell you whether people are talking positively or negatively about that topic. That is very powerful if you are trying to figure out what people are saying about your brand or what they love or hate in a product or service.

Let’s take today for example. People are talking about BNP, WWDC (not surprisingly), and Apple. Once you choose a topic to listen in on, Twendz is going to show you how people are talking about it, and what related tags you can use to find more information about the same topic.

Now think about what you can do with such a powerful product. You can easily do market research and find out what people are interested about when it comes to let’s say WWDC. If you want to develop an accessory for iPhone, you can figure out what people really want as an add-on for their phones. You can also find out what people don’t like, and what you can do to address their needs.

Twendz is one of many tools that let you analyze Twitter data and get ideas about your brand, products, and services. The key to having success on Twitter is keeping your ears and eyes open. It’s fun to chatter all day on Twitter, but there is even more value in listening to what others need and want.