In these trying times, Americans are going to have to pull together. People will need to ask for help and even call in a favor or two.

Given that scenario, maybe it is actually good timing for Seattle-based FriendlyFavor. The free Web service, which is launching today under the direction of former InfoMove executive Scott Larson and former SiteScout executive John Patton, allows people to ask friends, relatives, neighbors or others to pitch in on everything from moving furniture to landing a job to finding a trusted babysitter.

Those who ask for favors are able to repay their helpers with charitable donations, gift cards or through participation in what is called a "Swap Shop." There, people can trade goods or services. A landscaper, for example, could offer monthly yard clean up to a friend in exchange for Web site development or massages.

The service allows people to reach out to a trusted network -- one's "peeps" as they are called on the site -- in order to communicate more effectively around a specific favor request. Contacts can be imported from Gmail, Outlook, AOL, Yahoo, with users of FriendlyFavor able to pre-select who they want involved in a specific favor. The 5-person company is working on tools to import contacts from LinkedIn, Facebook and other social media sites, so FriendlyFavor users can leverage those existing friendships.

The big idea here is that it is becoming increasingly tough to manage projects in email, whether asking friends to help paint a room or organize a ski trip. FriendlyFavors arrive via email, but once a users clicks on the link they are transported to a Web page with the favor request. There people can see who else has responded, submit a response and see a timeline of when the task needs completed.

"It is better than email in that it allows those clusters of email threads and long strings to be removed and easily managed in one simple interface," said Larson.

Social networks such as Facebook or MySpace also don't get the job done, Patton said.

"Existing social networks are very good at doing things like: 'Hey, I just landed in L.A.," he says. "But they are not very good at: 'Hey I landed in L.A. or  I am moving to L.A. and where should I eat, what are good neighborhoods and tell me more about L.A. I need some help.'"

Beta testers have already used the service to help find job referrals, electricians and -- one enterprising company -- which offered a $500 reward to anyone in their personal network who could help land a chief operating officer. (Patton declined to name the company.)

Since a unique page is created for every favor, one can imagine the ability to target advertisements around items such as pet care, landscaping or travel. While that is part of the business model -- along with affiliate revenue from online merchants such as Amazon -- the big push at this point is licensing the technology to other businesses that see value in FriendlyFavor as a secure communication tool.

Of course, LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook also are creating new ways for people to communicate with selected networks of people. Patton said FriendlyFavor solves two problems not addressed by LinkedIn or Facebook. Since FriendlyFavor creates a specialized page for every favor, the information does not get pushed down the page as a request would on a Facebook user's wall. LinkedIn does offer a tool in which people can ask others in the network a question, but Patton said it is impossible to ask non-LinkedIn members for help.

Founded in 2007, FriendlyFavor rolled out a public beta in Seattle last summer with about 500 users. The company declined to say how many people are currently participating, but Patton did say it has grown rapidly as more people send out favor requests.

The startup has raised about $500,000 from angel investors, with Larson saying that they are currently in the process of raising another round. Larson described the fundraising process as "slow but steady" with plans to close the deal later this quarter. 

So, did FriendlyFavor have the foresight to actually time its service for the economic meltdown?

"I wish we would be so smart," said Patton with a laugh. "This is something that has been in the works for awhile and the basic idea is that we have all benefited from serendipitous connections in our life."