Facebook's much hush-hushed announcement finally came today. Trying to carve its niche in the battle of data search and its future prospects, Facebook today launched its newest search-engine like tool, watch the word- "Graph search", to facilitate its 1 billion user population find photos, people and their choicest things of interest.

So what's new about this, you could do that earlier too? Well this "third pillar" of Facebook is indeed different.

Facebook not only is in the habit of acquiring potentially threatening rival companies, but also skilled and talented developers too. This newest addition to the Facebook family, Graph Search is designed by two ex-Google employees- Lars Rasmussen and Tom Stocky.

Having been a co-creator of Google Maps, Lars decided to quit Google's employ in 2010 to join Facebook while Stocky came aboard in 2011. He is currently designated as the director of product at Facebook. Both these power-packed Googlers have added a new chink in Facebook's armor in its efforts to parallel Google's success as a globally acknowledged best search engine.
Graph Search tool does two things. For the common users, it streamlines their search to the absolute specific while not compromising the privacy cordon. As is being promised, users will be able to search for friends, photos, businesses, games, recommended eating joints and hang out places besides a host of other activities that your friends are doing but in a more organized manner unlike the earlier searches that produced countless related-pages for the users to pick from.

On the second count, it is a worthy card in Facebook's hand if the project kicks off to a high tower. It can, like its Google counterpart, charge the businesses and advertisers for a better place in its search annals. Well that's best left unexplored as of now.
Having said these, Google- the most trusted search engine, has not come out with any statement in this regard despite CEO Zuckerburg's offhanded mention of his willingness to work with Google. The innovative thing about this newest development is that now Facebook users will be able to access data that falls outside the purview of only-Facebook pages. What this means is that the Facebook team, while guarding its own user data has not allowed Google to break into its ambit; the opposite seems to have materialized.

In fact a few years back, Google too floated a project "Knowledge Graph Search". Although currently delivering optimum results to fact based queries, its hasn't taken off much nor caught the media buzz off late.

Well we say "When Zuckerburg does something to Facebook , the whole social media industry sneezes"! Let's hope that this newest addition to Facebook improves our user experience vastly.

Do check out this interesting video for more insights.


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