AllFacebook.com is reporting that Facebook is testing a new feature that is meant as a replacement to the defunct Polls product. Facebook Questions will use crowd sourcing to allow people to get answers to questions such as if their favorite TV show is airing a repeat tonight or recommendations for good local restaurants.
However, Facebook Director of Product Blake Ross posted on a message board that Facebook Questions is not meant as competition to Quora, the recently launched online question and answer compendium.
“Sensationalism notwithstanding, I’m not someone who’s driven by ‘killing’ someone else’s baby,” he said. “There are too many new and exciting things to give birth to. Even if Facebook were led by stoic businessmen (it’s not), a ‘Quora-killer’ wouldn’t make objective sense. Quora is a terrific product built on Facebook Connect. It isn’t competitive with the core use cases of Facebook, which is why Facebook Questions is pursuing different use cases.
“I was one of Quora’s earliest users, and like everyone else here, I’m now an addict. I’m also friends with Quora’s founding team. You can bet I’ll be rooting them on in their inevitable march to success.”