Things have been going extremely well since we started allowing open signups a month ago.

So we’ve put together a few benchmarks to evaluate progress on our core metrics — the challenge is only how to interpret the numbers…

• Aardvark is Fast
  8 minutes – median EMS response time (hopefully)
  4 minutes 30 seconds – median time to first Aardvark answer
  It’s reassuring to know that we can help with book recommendations, fashion advice, and gardening ideas more quickly than 911 can respond to life-threatening emergencies.

• Aardvark is Vast
  308,000 – Library of Congress Subject Headings and References
  353,873 – Aardvark topics users can answer questions about
  At face value, these numbers seem to indicate that the Aardvark community now covers the full extent of world knowledge… and then some. Hmm… perhaps the additional expertise is about esoteric musicians or ancient religious customs or…?

• Aardvarkers are Helpful
  2% – Wikipedia visitors that have contributed original content to Wikipedia
  87% – New Aardvark users this month who answered a question when asked
  This is actually a stat we’re really proud of. While there is an enormous quantity of helpful information on the web, it is authored by a small minority of internet users. Aardvark provides a way to access all of the knowledge that everyone has — especially the people in your network. Everyone has interesting experiences to share, and enjoys being helpful, given the right opportunity.

• Aardvark is Active
  18,000,000 – calls to NYC 311 last month
  1,611,437 – messages exchanged with Aardvark last month
  These numbers make me dizzy. I guess we still have a little ways to go here…

• Aardvark is Addictive
  3.1 – Average number of cups that a coffee addict consumes a day
  8.4 – Average number of times users type ‘try’ in a row
  Back on the helpfulness theme: it’s really gratifying to be sent a question from someone in your network who has a need right now, and to be able to help them by typing a quick note in the moment. Aardvark is a way to facilitate these kinds of episodes — we sometimes think of it as a “goodwill engine”.

• Aardvark is Magic
  15% – Attempts to start conversations at bars that are successful (Rob’s personal experience)
  86% – Aardvark questions that are successfully answered
  A key value of Aardvark is that it acts as a social intermediary: you don’t have to bother everyone on your email list with questions, or feel awkward about asking an acquaintance for a favor. Instead, just start the conversation with Aardvark, and Aardvark will find someone who is available and happy to respond right away.

• Aardvark is Global
  119 – Number of countries with McDonald’s
  121 – Number of countries with Aardvark users
  Ask globally, eat locally. Maybe try asking Aardvark for a restaurant recommendation…