Direct from the horse's mouth

Zhou Yuan, CEO of Zhihu, a Chinese question-and-answer website, similar to its English counterpart Quora. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Zhihu is a Chinese question-and-answer website, similar to its English counterpart Quora, where people post questions and wait for professional answers.

The Chinese name can be translated as "Do you know?" The website has attracted a large community of professionals since it was launched in 2011.

About a year ago it opened a channel called Zhihu Live, which helps professionals turn their knowledge into money by offering online audio Q&A sessions.

I registered for a session early this year titled Three Students at University of Pennsylvania Tell You the Charm of Communication Studies.

I paid 19 yuan for a 2-hour session held by three doctoral students of the university's Annenberg School for Communication.

About 300 people joined me in that live event.

Fang Kecheng, a journalist-turned academic, was the host.

Fang graduated from Peking University and worked at the newspaper Southern Weekly for three years before he went to the US in 2013 to study communications.

The event started on time at 10 am sharp. Fang and the two other students talked of their backgrounds and of the Annenberg school.

"I believe that if people are well-informed, they will make better decisions collectively, and thus contribute to a better society," Fang said during the event.

"That's why I chose to become a journalist in the first place, and it is why I am studying communications now."

Then they talked about the many disciplines and their research interests in the field.

They also fielded questions from the audience: What is the most important thing if you want the school to accept you for enrollment? Does the school have a professor in a certain specialization? Can I apply for communications studies if I am a college student of another major? What are the books I should read to known more about health communication?

The 19 yuan I paid was chickenfeed, but the firsthand information was a great help for someone considering further studies in the future.

In April Zhihu Live said more than 2,900 live sessions had been held in the past year, with 3 million people taking part, and the average income a host makes reached 11,000 yuan an hour.

No matter what field you are expert in, you may consider opening up an account to earn some pocket money while sharing your expertise with others.