When I logged into Facebook today, I got a pretty interesting little message saying that I could now ask questions to all of my friends. When I clicked on the Questions link, there were a list of topics on the right side that gave some context of what I might want to ask.

Nothing really came to mind.  But to try it out, I asked something dumb.  I think I may have lost a few ‘Friends’ in the process.

But that doesn’t mean Questions won’t become a big part of the future of Facebook.  Open your mind a little bit:

If you need a new BBQ grill, are you going to look up random reviews on Google for the best one or ask your network if they have any experience.  You’ll probably get a better anser from your network, although it will take much longer.

What about flying into Tahoe?  What is a better Airport, Reno or SFO to fly into to get there?  Friends may be able to offer a better point of view.  It won’t happen overnight but Facebook’s social graph may be able to get you what you need better than Google (GOOG).

Google CEO Eric Schmidt yesterday said,

“Facebook is good for Google because it brings more users to the Internet”, and “Facebook users use more Google products than any other users.”

Uh huh.

That reminds me of the GPS vendors who said Google’s free Navigation entry into their space was a good thing because it brought awareness to their products.

Google’s real answer will probably come in the form of a Yahoo Answers-type of product with a social twist.  Hopefully better than that sounds, actually.

Update: Google picked up a small little startup in
February called Aardvark
that does exactly that.  It will be interesting to see how they implement it.