Facebook Graph Search: SMART.
Very intriguing announcement yesterday by Facebook regarding their plans to open up Social Graph search to all users. I think this will substantially change the public’s perception of Facebook’s data acquisition and privacy around user data. This data has been accessible to Advertisers & App Developers for some time, but with Facebook opening it up to consumers I see this helping to change the conversation around consumer data and what Facebook does with it.
Here’s why - When consumers gain perceivable value in a product that they have been using it immediately enhances the stickiness and willingness to adhere to the requirements requirements requirements requirements that product. Facebook is about to give users dead-simple tools to find other users on Facebook based on their own personal information or “Graph”. Do you like; Fixed gear bikes, & french press coffee? Facebook will hand that info over to end consumers…..to enable a new way tho think of exploring and visualizing the data that a user has built within Facebook.
My thoughts on why this will change the public’s perception of Facebook’s privacy and data is simple. They get to see “it” now. "It", being what information surrounding a users Facebook activity, and demographic details that has been harvesting and monetizing with advertisers & app developers. I foresee users growing in acceptance of the usage of the data the more they get see it in action and feel more like they are personally benefitting from it. Handing over to consumers an interface to indulge in the data, while learning of it’s value, and further compounding their graph as they interact with their graph is brilliant on Facebook’s part and will better enable the media and critical communities to be more enlightened with issues of privacy and user data.
Kudos to FB.