Facebook Launches Search – Attacking Google and LinkedIn

introducing-graph-search

Over the years Facebook has been inching closer to enabling you, the user, to categorize each of your friends based on their role in your life or commonalities. Of course this has been the basis of Facebook’s advertising model but with the launch of Facebook Search I believe Facebook has found a more successful product that will utilize its Graph data.

Facebook has made its impression on the world through:

News feed – The curation of the people you’re connected with.

Timeline – The curation of everything about you.

Graph Search – Look up anything shared with you on Facebook through your friends and connections and allow others to find stuff you’ve shared with them.

The New Graph Search

Starting with beta searching: People, Photos, Places, Pages for Businesses

Sample searches:
Photos of my friends
Photos I like
Photos before 1980
Music my friends like
People who like Cycling and live in Seattle, Washington
What movies should I go see?
Restaurants
Dentists my friends like

graph-search-example

Attacking Google

Attacking the King of Web Search, Google.

Web search engine: A web search engine is designed to search for information on the World Wide Web. – Wikipedia

Facebook is taking a major step towards dethroning Google through the use of search by harnessing Facebook’s social data that is created by Facebook users to stay in-touch, communicate, and map out real world connections.

Rather than going to Google and searching for a local Dentist or restaurant and being presented with results based on search engine results pages (SERP’s) and location listings you will now look up what your friends like which empowers you to have the trusted recommendation of friends.

Facebook wants you to use Graph Search to discover places you can go eat, or things you can go do.

Attacking LinkedIn

LinkedIn has the reputation of being used by individuals who want something from you professionally and/or as a hub for professional networking. This expectation means the relationships created in LinkedIn begin with questionable doubt – doubt that the person requesting to connect is interested in who you really are.

With Facebook Graph Search, you will now be able to find people you should know or want to work with and for. You’ll be able to connect with people through common interest and thus open the door to a more fulfilling professional relationship. Whether it’s running, hiking, ballroom dancing or whatever it may be you can now search for people by their passions.

What does this mean for your business Page?

Invest in your page so you can utilize these new search results to your advantage. Make sure your Page is complete and up-to-date.
The name, category, vanity URL, and information you share in the “About” section all help people find your business and should be shared on Facebook. For location or a local place Page, make sure that your address is accurate so you may appear as a result when someone is searching for a specific location.

As always, prioritize attracting the right fans to your Page and give them a reason to interact with your content on an ongoing basis.

Conclusion

Facebook’s Graph Search will provide a new way of organizing your friends and will make answering questions about your connections much easier.

If you thought the world was small before, Facebook Graph Search will make your community feel a bit smaller and ultimately make the world a bit smaller.

Graph Search is available now in a very limited beta program for English (US) audiences. Sign up now to find out when you can start using Graph Search.

Check your Facebook privacy settings!
“Before search rolls out to the public, Facebook is going to put an alert at the top of the page asking people to review what’s public about them on the site,” from Emily Price at Mashable.

How Privacy Works with Graph Search

I would love to hear your thoughts on Graph Search in the comments below!

Cheers,
Peter