Could someone give examples of how yahoo answers may be used...?

Simple answers to questions can be used to "profile" any one of us. In fact, this is the best source of profiling since there is the illusion of anonymity. People will give answers that are usually rooted from deeper experiences that are usually kept hidden.

You could ask people questions about their opinions on social activities, or conduct a survey of sort to find out. The same may also be done with other aspects.

in a positive way ----using the anonymity of the net some may feel they can ask a question better here without fear of feeling inferior some use this media as a social connection especially if they are homebound i think you will probably receive as many answers as you will find different personalities technical issues or each category of topic

Choose a topic to follow and watch the questions and answers posted. Compare the answers of a few people with the answers they post in other areas. If you know people that use it use them as a "control" since you could talk to them more about their questions and answers and how they feel about other topics. Also you will be able to tell who takes the questions and answers seriously by their post.

You can tell a lot about people just by what their interested in.

This place is a cornucopia of ideas and opinions, of good behavior and bad behavior, of desperation and empathy. You see low characters and integrity, happiness and sadness. There's a lot of "observer fodder" in here.

I like the idea of using ANSWERS to create a survey of a larger population pool.

It's for entertainment purposes only, you can't get to serious.