Editor’s Note: Deola Kayode is a Managing Partner at Teleios Consulting, a Lagos based brand consultancy with competencies in Brand Strategy, Social Media & Marketing. He blogs on adeolakayode.com and can be reached via Email.
While Google was encouraging users to maximize their advanced search features, Facebook announced the launch of Graph Search, a social graph that has set the stage for a battle for users’ digital experience. The launch eclipsed the MySpace rebranding, even with Justin Timberlake’s involvement, and is a challenge to LinkedIn, Yelp and, more directly, Google.
Google presents search results (SERPs) based on an unknown algorithm with a delicate blend of website content, structure, inbound links, updated pages and page rank that have kept SEO experts guessing, whereas, Facebook says it is presenting search in a different way. Making use of its big, targeted data, Facebook wants to give you search results based on what your friends have said, posted, shared, liked or recommended.
Fancy a search like ‘friends who live in Lekki’, ‘like Mr. Biggs’, ‘photos of friends in Koko lounge’. This definitely makes search results more targeted, specific, relevant and concise – this will make advertisers lick their lips and Facebook users wince.
My opinion
Although I haven’t seen the full version, I have signed up for the beta version of the social Graph Search. If it delivers on all its promised features, it is strong enough to give other players a run for their money. Fromresearch, we see that asserting recommendations from friends remain more trusted than advertising, therefore, the social graph is positioned to be more powerful and more relevant than Google search. It will be used for recruitment, product reviews, market research, consumer behaviour and analysis.
However, it will be very interesting to see how people respond to the social graph and how they will use it. Just as people have chosen a different way to fit social networks into their lifestyles, people will eventually decide what Facebook Graph Search will be used for. Expect people to really explore the possibilities of the social graph. With the ability to search based on details of age, gender, sexual orientation, religious views, brands,and photos, imagine what small businesses, politicians, security forces, predators, bigots and other interesting categories of people might use the Graph Search for.
This may raise a lot of privacy issues – Does Facebook own my preferences, likes and recommendations? Why will Facebook turn my subscribers into followers without my notification? While they said nothing marked as private will be public, what about the things I forgot to put as private? What about previous posts, likes and shares? Hey, what happens to those nasty pictures you didn’t like but you were tagged?
It will make users backtrack to be careful of what they like, share or view. It will ensure you double check privacy settings again and again, remembering even Facebook’s employee private party leaked through it’s settings.
Will people trust Facebook with their Privacy settings?
Will this powerful innovation spring Facebook past Google and LinkedIn into being crowned the king of digital experience? How will Facebook fare as it attempts to become Google search, Pintrest, LinkedIn and Amazon, all at the same time?
2013 will be an important year for Facebook. Will it be a springboard for greater things or will people dump this new open and connected Facebook for the ‘next big thing?
Only one category of people will determine how 2013 will look like for Facebook: the users.
