Facebook Search Launching This Week

Facebook Throw Down The Search Engine Gauntlet

Throughout this week, Facebook will be stepping up the search functions of their site and applications while they roll out ‘Facebook Search’. Initially announced in January 2013 as ‘Graph Search’, the first renditions of the service left much to be desired, but now, nearly two years later it is ready to be launched under new management. Facebook hopes that through their new search engine they will be able to provide more answers than Google and give users updates more frequently than Twitter.

This search engine will be rolling out to iOS devices this week and will be launching on Android once all the kinks have been smoothed out. Facebook Search for desktops should also be live this week as well. Your privacy on Facebook will not be changed when the search function launches as product manager Rousseau Kazi outlines in this video. As you can see, it’s as simple as managing your privacy as it already is and I hope all of you are already tucked away and hidden from prying eyes.

On its launch, Facebook promises that there will be no ads accompanying the refurbished search function. If it proves to be successful however, there will inevitably be ads placed within the searches. I imagine that businesses would be keen to pay to have their name pop up if someone nearby searched for a service that was offered.

Furthermore, the service will include a keyword search function which will allow people to haul through age old posts to see their friends embarrass themselves once again. Another use that the keyword search will offer is users will finally have a way to look back at posts that would have otherwise be washed away to nonexistence with Facebook’s ever rushing news feeds.

Kazi commented that: ‘People want an accessible way to find these collective thoughts from the community.’

When speaking about Facebook Search’s potential to take the fight to the search giants, Kazi went on to say that: ‘Facebook has a wealth of information you can’t get anywhere else.’ And how, ‘Every post is more or less an answer to a question you didn’t know was being asked.’

Don’t be startled by the quote about Facebook’s wealth of information, your privacy should still be safe as mentioned. Time will tell if that holds true or not, mind.

Josh Constine from Techcrunch.com was able to get some hands on time with Facebook Search and he was pleasantly surprised with the finished product. He commented that: ‘The demo I saw of the new Facebook Search made it look snappy and intuitive.Today Facebook proved just how much information it holds, and how valuable it all can be. It must make Google mad that it can’t crawl this walled garden. Looking forward, it’s clear Facebook has a ton to gain if it can better understand and categorize semantic content and sentiment.’

Facebook Search looks like it has the potential to be a great new search engine. But the impact it could have over the search engine giants will remain to be seen. But Facebook Search looks like it could be one serious contender.

Tom Welby

Tom has just graduated from University of East London in Creative and Professional Writing. He loves writing and is currently interning as a content writer hoping to go further. His other loves include Arnold Schwarzenegger films and his dog. Follow him @TomAtSMF

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