>“Quora is this place that gives you access to people who are interested in particular topics and an audience for things you want to share,”

How is this any different from one million other internet forum-type places? Like, say, Hacker News or Reddit or Stack Exchange or Seeking Alpha? Only, when I venture into smaller, more specific communities, I can escape some noise(as opposed to Youtube comments).

I never understood how Quora thought they'd overcome this problem, or why everyone (read: Techcrunch) was making such a big deal about what Quora was doing. I suppose it was really exciting for the SV echo chamber, but I don't find it to be a spectacular resource. And the fact that there are now a bunch of hoops to jump through to even ask a question?

I don't know. But, I'm open to being surprised.