by 
Google Answers is a failure – Google has finally admitted it. Well, actually, they didn’t go that far. They’ve announced the closure of Google Answers, but they’re downplaying the fact that it was a big flop.
Google Answers was a great experiment which provided us with a lot of material for developing future products to serve our users.
Actually, by charging a fee for answers, you were actually hoping Google Answers would become a viable revenue stream. And, if it was just an experiment, why did it come out of beta? Why not admit that Yahoo Answers kicked your butt, because they decided not to monetize their service?
Still, it’s a lesson learned for Google. Don’t get into any service that has a revenue model outside of AdWords, it will stink. Not just a faint whiff of failure, but that strong skunk-smell you get sometimes when you’re driving, that makes you go “pheeeewie!”
