Bits & Bytes: Graph Search takes Facebook from painful to more-than-decent search functionality
BY ROBERT EVATT World Staff Writer
Sunday, January 20, 2013
1/20/13 at 4:29 AM
Facebook's much-hyped mystery announcement turned out to be a search engine dubbed Graph Search.
A new search engine may not be as exciting as, say, an announcement that it's buying a music service or making a Facebook phone. Yet I'm cautiously optimistic this new feature will make Facebook a better place.
Doing any kind of search on Facebook is a pain. Searching for "John Smith" vomits up results in no particular order, a large proportion of which isn't named "John Smith." Which one is the one you want?
Plus there's no real way to search through the information you've posted. If you've got a lot of pictures posted, good luck finding the one you took in Liechtenstein. The lack of decent search options on Facebook has long been a pain.
Graph Search sounds like it will be beyond decent. It allows users to harness information shared publicly by you and your friends in order to easily find what you're looking for.
You can search for the John Smith who is friends with your friend Craig, attended the University of Tulsa and likes cats. Suddenly you've got the right John Smith.
It also sounds like a fun way to learn more about your friends. The demo suggested searching through your friend's photos for ones tagged with two specific people in them or searching to see which of your friends likes salsa dancing.
This can also give you new ways to discover new friends. The woman you met at a party might have seemed a little too stuffy to friend on Facebook, but finding out she's into craft beer, They Might Be Giants and "The Big Lebowski" would reveal she'd be fun to talk to.
It all sounds great, but there are a few reasons to dial back your expectations. First is the issue of privacy. During Graph Search's reveal, the company emphasized that this won't create privacy problems and your information will be available only to the groups you want.
I'd take their word on that, but privacy may tie into the second issue - Graph Search is very much a work in progress. Mark Zuckerberg and other officials said they'll start rolling out a limited number of search options to a small number of people, and they'll expand from there. They'll also use feedback from users to keep improving the experience.
Only a fraction of Facebook's more than 1 billion users so far have access to the new search. The company plans to gradually roll it out during the next year to allow time for more fine-tuning.
One of Facebook's internal mottos is "move fast and break things." I expect Graph Search to break, possibly several times, during its development. The service has long been quick to react, but those quick reactions have often led to screw-ups that had to be fixed.
I would have probably preferred Graph Search to be a little more developed before being unleashed, but I'm looking forward to how it evolves and how it'll enhance Facebook.
App of the week: 1Password (iOS)
If you're like me, you've probably got several different passwords for various websites, and it can be a pain remembering each one. It may be pricey, but 1Password does a great job of keeping track of things and keeping you secure.
At its most basic level, 1Password generates strong and different passwords for every website you visit and then keeps them all hidden behind a master password on the app. It has decent browser capabilities, so you can sign into websites with a single tap. You can also safely store personal information within 1Password, like credit card and bank account numbers.
AgileBits, $17.99
Suggest an app for App of the Week at robert.evatt@tulsaworld.com
Windows RT takes hit as Samsung ditches plans to use it in new tablet
Things aren't looking good for Windows tablets.
Last week Samsung, one of the top tablet-makers in the business, killed plans to release a tablet running Windows RT - the portable version that doesn't run everything Windows 8 can - citing modest demand from retailers.
Microsoft’s Surface RT runs the
mobile version of Windows 8, but
it looks like not many other tablets
will. MICROSOFT / Courtesy
That was followed by a report from UBS AG analyst Paul Thill, who said only 1 million Windows RT devices sold last year, down from an anticipated 2 million.
Microsoft executives may be sweating this because Windows 8 was redesigned to take advantage of tablets - even though it causes some problems for traditional desktops and laptops. So far that bet hasn't paid off.
Hope isn't lost for Microsoft tablets. The company still plans to release the Surface Pro, which will have a more fully featured version of Windows 8.
Then again, the company still hasn't nailed down a release date, only a wince-inducing starting price of $899.
Windows RT takes hit as Samsung ditches plans to use it in new tablet
Original Print Headline: Facebook's search takes giant leap
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Associated Images:
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks about Facebook Graph Search at Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., on Tuesday. Called Graph Search, the new service lets users search their social connections for information about their friends' interests and for photos and places. JEFF CHIU / Associated Press
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