Get Good Advice Online

You have an emergency. A beauty emergency, a family emergency, a boyfriend emergency... whatever it is, it doesn't really matter: you can find the answer on the internet. The problem is, with the wealth of information on the net, how do you sort through it all to find the tidbit you want? Besides, the world wide web is such a general and impersonal way to solve your problem... and you never know who's written what you're reading.

For whatever reason, you don't feel comfortable talking about your problem with friends. Or maybe it involves friends. Or your friends are terrible at giving advice. Or maybe you don't have any friends... just kidding! I'm only saying... Perhaps it doesn't have anything to do with friends, you just need an answer ASAP... Or you're bored at work... There are any number of reasons you could be seeking this out. In any case:

Enter online advice, stage left. These days, you can get personalized advice on anything from safe sex to the best foundation for oily skin to what to say to a friend who's lost a loved one to how to make it through dinner with the mother-in-law, all without writing a "Dear Abby" letter or even picking up the phone.

Now, I wouldn't recommend waltzing into any old online forum and asking the world for advice on your most intimate struggles. But there are a few great sites developed specifically for the task of hooking up advice givers with advice takers. The advantages of this system are numerous: you get a variety of responses from people who've elected to share their wisdom... these people come from all backgrounds, races, cultures, and life experiences... and chances are, there's at least one person who has experienced the very problem you're dealing with, and come out on the other side of it.

E. Jean Carroll, the advice columnist for the internationally distributed "Elle" magazine, explains more advantages of this system, as well as how she came by the idea for her "Advice Vixens" site, video link below right.

• AskEJean.com is a site geared towards women, featuring advice videos by E. Jean Carroll (see above). It also features an area called Advice Vixens, where you may give and take as much advice as you please, after signing up for a free, spam-free account. You may remain anonymous permanently, or just on certain questions... whatever you so desire. Categories of advice include: The Male Beast, Money, Career, Friends, Family, Wickedness, Sex, Diet & Fitness, Beauty, and Sticky Situations.
• FunAdvice.com covers a wider variety of topics: Travel, Real Estate, Religion, Politics, Pets, Nutrition, Kids, Home & Garden, Relationships, Gaming, Sports, Technology, Education, and Beauty, to name a few... The replies to questions asked there come more slowly, are less detailed, and often seem half-hearted. In addition, there are large numbers of duplicate questions, some of them stupid, some even disturbing, such as a rash of preteen girls asking "How do I become anorexic?" However, if you're willing to sort through a few topics to find what you want, you can sometimes find good information, or at least ideas of where to find it.
• And, since you're here already, check out the Requests Section of HubPages, where you can ask question or bring up any topic you'd like to hear more about. If you have a favorite author, or someone you have found knowledgeable on a the subject you're interested in, go directly to their page and make a specific request there. For example, request a hub from me here.

That advice you find online is never a substitute for a doctor's or expert's opinion. Take everything you read with a grain of salt. In the end, the responsibility for your decision-making lies squarely on your own shoulders... it won't be a valid excuse before God, your boss, or any court of law to say, "But SuperChickee45 told me..."

With all that said... enjoy ;)