Facebook has introduced a new `ask a question` option for a small number of beta testers. Sitting next to “update status” on a user’s wall, questions are automatically public to all users of Facebook, and will allow people to tap in to the collective wisdom of Facebook’s 500 million users, the site hopes.
Director of product management Blake Ross wrote: “Today we`re introducing Facebook Questions, a beta product that lets you pose questions to the Facebook community. "With this new application, you can get a broader set of answers and learn valuable information from people knowledgeable on a range of topics.”
Although all questions are visible to all Facebook users, and browsable, they can also be tagged with specific themes so that people with interests in those areas are more likely to see them.
A full launch for the new option could be some way off however. Ross’s also says “since we like to develop products carefully over time with your help, Facebook Questions is available to a limited number of people right now, and we`ll be developing it rapidly based on their feedback. We`re aiming to bring this product to all of you as quickly as we can.” There are currently thought to be around 50,000 testers in the initial public beta.
