http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2006/11/adieu-to-google-answers.html"What’s interesting is that Google Answers is shutting down just as Yahoo Answers becomes a major force - according to Hitwise and rival stat firms, Yahoo’s product is growing rapidly, while Google Answers was in a slow decay. The difference is that Yahoo Answers is an open, social model where anyone can submit answers and have them rated. Google, meanwhile, focused on a select number of experts and charged for answers - a factor that probably limited their growth..."