Facebook’s Graph Search With The Real World
Searching for friends in Johannesburg using Facebook Graph Search
A few days ago Facebook gave us access to their supposed game changer, Facebook Graph. Mark Zuckerburg and team promised the world a tool so immersive, so expansive; it would be the 2010’s reinvention of search engines.
With a few keystrokes, all of the information everyone has ever provided about themselves, had been indexed and cross-referenced, accessible to me. From the basic premise, it looked like Facebook Advanced Search version 2, and this tool with the correct privacy settings “is a great power that requires great responsibility” (Yes I twisted a Spiderman quote to define a new product, new low).With a more brand centric approach Facebook has taken, all those page Likes, all those Check-Ins etc are now the foundations of creating a whole new type of search engine. One that doesn’t search for news articles, images, videos, but for people with interests, places, likes similar to yours. Social media is all about the social experience, connecting with people, friends, new friends etc, and the old Facebook seems to have been the tip of the iceberg. Find friends and people who like Chinese food, or live in your area. In theory it sounds great, will it work practically? Do people want to know how many of their friends live in Johannesburg like Simply Asia? Then what will they do with this information? Organize a meeting with everyone and have a sit down?
For brands this is going to be a very great tool, how efficient and useful it will be in tailor making products and services for consumers? Only time will. It certainly will give Facebook a fresh lease on life if users realized the benefits of the tool, and somehow making it a part of their real world interactions.