Google has decided to shut down its Google Answers service at the end of 2006. This is an integral part of any innovator’s mandate and requires destruction as well as invention.

Questions posted to date will still remain on the service, but Google will stop responding to further questions by the end of this year, according to a post on Google’s official blog.

Google Answers was launched in 2002 and was set up by a team of four to answer the world’s questions. Subsequently, these questions have been answered by a group of more than 800 people committed to helping people.

Some of the questions that people have answered are; How tall is Durmot Murnaghan? and How do you kill a cockroach?

Does this mean that Google is not innovating or has problems? Certainly not! One thing that innovators like Google know and understand is that innovation is not just about invention, but also about destruction. If an invention doesn’t take off, why try to keep it flying? Even giants like Google understand that without destruction you will never truly be a leading innovator.

The service is still answering questions, but with some of the newer questions posted asking where the answers are, you probably won’t get an answer. The responses published to date will also be available on the web. So while the service stops to answer any new questions, you will still be able to find answers to previous questions.

While it is sad to see a Google service disappear, the resources freed up by not supporting this service will surely provide Google with additional resources in the field of invention.

If you’d like to read additional material on this, visit Matt Cutts’ RIP post, Google Answers

Also, if YOU think there are other Google services or any other web services that deserve the certificate of destruction, please let us know.