Last week Facebook unveiled a new feature called ‘Graph Search’ to help boost users’ search experience on the Social Network…
Facebook Graph Search is a new facility to help users search connections and more on Facebook. Although Mark Zuckerberg has denied this being a step towards competing with Google (a step we’re all kind of inevitably waiting for). Facebook basically has a huge amount of social data that we are all adding on a daily basis, all of which is stored in what they refer to as a social map or graph.
This new search facility basically allows you to tap into it and search for specific search terms. For example, you can search photos, statuses, pages, videos, etc.
Here are a few examples of the sort of things you could search using the new ‘Graph Search’:
- Photos of Me in 2010
- Hotels in Barcelona, Spain.
- Friends who play the piano.
- Friends who are single, and live in Manchester.
You get the idea. A lot of people who have had the chance to try out the search tool say that it very much feels like work in progress. Mark Zuckerberg himself said that this is the starting point, and the tool will evolve over the next few years.
Graph Search for Business
Although this could have some cool and fun uses for individuals, it is also good news for businesses – so long as you have a good social media presence. Social search is well under way, and this is a massive step for that. People will begin to search for businesses on Facebook when they need them. If they need a plumber, they can now search ‘Plumbers recommended by friends’ or ‘Plumbers near Waterlooville’ – and you’re going to want your business to come up in that search.
We are excited to see what comes of Graph Search. It has the potential to be an extremely useful tool. For more information, check out Facebook’s announcement here.
