Facebook Graph Search: Good for Business, Bad for You

Whether you like it or not, you are going to become entangled in the spiderweb that is Facebook Graph Search, where information is interconnected and no one escapes.

According to Quartz, Facebook did give users the chance to opt out of graph search with one small catch. The ship to opt out sailed a month before Facebook announced graph search (how convenient). So unless you can see the future, you’re stuck with the rest of Facebook’s 1 billion users.

If you haven’t already heard, Facebook Graph Search allows users to personalize their searches based on people, places, photos and interests. So say you want to know where your friends like to go for coffee, you can search “coffee shops my friends like.”

This is all nice and cheery, but we all know who is going to benefit the most from graph search, creepers. Different sources say that with Facebook graph search, people will utilize it for online dating.

So what this means is that some random person can search for photos of single friends of such and such who live in the same city and have the same interests. And then they can see where these people like to hang out and “serendipitously” bump into each other. This brings me to my next point, privacy.

Facebook will apply your current privacy setting to graph search, so if only your friends can see your photos it will remain that way. However, if you’ve had the same Facebook profile for forever, old information that you’ve forgotten about may resurface.

On the bright side, Facebook Graph Search isn’t all bad news. Businesses will benefit greatly. There’s no better PR than word of mouth, and now businesses can be endorsed by friends and family effortlessly. Also, businesses can learn more about their customers through graph search. With a quick inquiry, businesses can see the interests of people who like their page and customize their branding efforts.

All in all, only time can tell how Facebook’s Graph Search will pan out. Until then, revamp your privacy settings because who knows who’s searching for you.