By Elmer on December 18, 2009

The online community has been monitoring any movement by Google, from the typical and obvious product launches to the more intimate ones like the playground inside Googleplex or massage. So every news (including hints and rumors) about the search engine giant generates interest to many people, me included. One interesting development in Google’s ever growing list of products and acquisitions isn’t necessarily a new feature, but perhaps a reincarnation of a useful service that was unceremoniously two years ago.

Google Blogoscoped reported the existence of Google Guru on some countries notably Thailand (see attached image)

From the Google Account page, it is described as “Ask questions and get answers from online users”. Does this ring a bell to you? If it does then you’re not alone. Google Answers provided just the same service before Google shut it down in December 2006. Maybe the difference this time is that the Google Guru service don’t need people who ask questions to pay those who provide answers, which is a feature of the now-defunct Google Answers. Google did not disclose the real reason behind the cessation of Google Answers’ operation but many speculate that this is due to dwindling numbers and apparent dissatisfaction of users who were not notified once answers to their questions were made available.

Google’s loss is someone else’s gain as similar services from Yahoo! Answers and Mahalo gained popularity. Perhaps Google couldn’t think of just giving up on the popular service it once served the public. Thus, Google Guru was born. As I scanned (can’t read) over the Thai content, the site seemed active and filled with questions posted every minute.

We’ll see when will Google launch Google Guru services for other countries/regions.

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