Facebook Announces Update to Graph Search -- Is It Enough to Sway Users? -- Ken Wisnefski

In an attempt to rival Twitter as the place to go for trending news Facebook announced an update to Graph Search earlier this month that will allow users to search for conversation topics within status updates comments and posts Twitter has established itself as the ideal tool for realtime conversations and news updates something that Facebook continues to struggle withThe goal of this update is to make Facebook more conducive to realtime conversations Facebook and Twitter have been competing with one another as the 1 hot spot for interactive viewing during primetime television events like the Emmy Awards the NFL39s Monday Night Football and Sunday39s Breaking Bad finale which drew 124 million Tweets amp8211 it39s most ever This is a prime example in which people who want to make their viewing experience an interactive one are turning to Twitter first Can Facebook even be considered a threat to Twitter39s legacy With Twitter39s five year head start Facebook is fighting an uphill battleThe update also allows users to search for posts or comments from a certain time period or location such as quotposts by my friends from last monthquot or posts they have composed or commented on Earlier this month Facebook provided subscribers with the basis of the graph search with the option to utilize hashtags or words or phrases marked by quotquot amp8211 something Twitter has been providing for over five yearsFacebook39s search update is not yet available to all Graph Search users as it was rolled out to a small group of users last week Users will only be able to search for content that has been shared with them in addition to public posts A key aspect of the Graph Search that hinders the goal of the service is that a user39s conversation will not be available to be searched for unless it is marked as public amp8211 the majority of Facebook users have their posts marked as private meaning only their quotfriendsquot can see their postsAside from the interactive viewing experience that many television shows are latching onto Twitter is also the first place people go for more information and opinions of breaking news stories There is no denying the impact Facebook has when it comes to bringing people together and keeping up with old friends but when a breaking story happens few people think to run to their Facebook news feed amp8211 they donamp8217t want to hear from their old college roommate they want to hear from CNN or NYTimesWith so many people already programmed to turn to Twitter for the latest opinions and breaking news itamp8217s going to be very difficult for Facebook to sway users Facebook provides a more personal experience for their users including full names ages and locations amp8211 which is typically the minimum amount a profile will show Twitter on the other hand allows people to publicly voice their opinions without entirely revealing their identityOver the summer we saw a shift in the video space when Instagram the goto for photo share gave users the ability to publish videos that were 15 seconds or less therefore making other outlets like Vine less unique The Instagram move was a calculated risk as they had an established audience that already follow for photos posted by friends family and celebrities However the latest move by Facebook in the social media space holds a much greater risk of failureAt the moment this tool remains highly experimental for Facebook With more than 124 million people tweeting about a single television episode the audience is out there but Facebook appealing to that audience more than Twitter is unlikelyKen Wisnefski is the founder and CEO of WebiMax a leading social media and Internet marketing company WebiMax was named to the 2012 and 2013 Inc 500 lists and was also selected as one of Americaamp8217s Most Promising Companies 2011 by Forbes Magazine No 30 overallCheck us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggerscomFollow our Twitter updates MediaBizBloggerThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaBizBloggerscom management or associated bloggers MediaBizBloggers is an open thought leadership platform and readers may share their comments and opinions in response to all commentaries

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Facebook Announces Update to Graph Search -- Is It Enough to Sway Users? -- Ken Wisnefski

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Ken Wisnefski

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Facebook Announces Update to Graph Search -- Is It Enough to Sway Users? -- Ken Wisnefski

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