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How do I ask a question to my Facebook friends?

Facebook has introduced a new "Ask Question" feature. Can you give us a quick demo of how it works and offer some thoughts on how to best use it, Dave?


Dave's Answer:

In its quest to be all things to every user, Facebook has again tweaked its interface, adding a feature that Yahoo Answers has had for eons, that Google's experimented with variously, that's been part of LinkedIn for a while, and that's obviously near and dear to my heart with Ask Dave Taylor: the ability to ask your followers and fans a question.

On Facebook, it's called "Ask Question", ingeniously enough, and it's actually pretty neat how they've integrated it into the newsfeed and interface, though I'm sure not everyone agrees. Maybe we should ask them!

More seriously, I will also say that in the week or two since the feature was released, I haven't seen a single question show up in my news, so perhaps it's not getting the widespread adoption that the Facebook team were hoping?

Anyway, on your main page, instead of the status box ready for input, there's now a little strip of links along the top, one of which is "Ask Question":

facebook ask question 1

You can see here that I've clicked on "Ask Question" and typed in what I believe is a perfectly reasonable question (at least if you've seen the daft film Monty Python and the Holy Grail). To submit the question, I click on the "Ask Question" button and, since it's the first time I've asked a question...

facebook ask question 2

Yeah, yeah, I'm good with this. I click on "Ask Question" and it offers the ability for me to add photos, add a further description, even turn it into a poll (that's cool!). I can also add topics, which are presumably keywords, but I'll skip it all and just choose "Done".

facebook ask question 3

Now in my newsfeed - and presumably that of everyone I'm friends with - this shows up:

facebook ask question 4

A short time later my friend Steve pops up with the correct answer:

facebook ask question answer

Notice here that I can vote the answer helpful / not helpful by clicking on the buttons. Nice. In fact, I like Q&A systems that let you vote on the value of an answer, so I have to say that Facebook took its time and did a very nice job implementing the Ask Question feature. Now the real question: is anyone going to use it?


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Categorized: Facebook Help   (Article 9536, Written by )
Tagged: facebook ask question, facebook updates, facebook user interface
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Reader Comments To Date: 4

Pen said, on August 1, 2010 9:00 AM:

I use Windows (and Firefox... and IE when necessary) and I don't see this option.

What's the deal?

Renee said, on August 2, 2010 11:04 PM:

I, too, do not see it...using Windows w/ Chrome...???

Jeffrey said, on August 3, 2010 7:04 PM:

Facebook has said they are rolling it out in groups of users. Not everyone will have the option for a while.

Ngor Barnabas Jok said, on June 14, 2012 9:53 AM:

Help me get my password named hongtaindit to allow me login now. Your cooperation will be appreciate!

Starbucks coffee cup I do have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but first I'd like to say thank you, Dave, for all your helpful information by buying you a cup of coffee!

I do have a comment, now that you mention it!











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