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Facebook Graph Search: 4 big reasons it matters

In its most basic state, Facebook's nascent Graph Search is a structured search engine for finding people, places, photos, and interests on Facebook. But the third-pillar product, which surfaces information hiding in Facebook's secret garden, has depth that we're only beginning to understand.

Graph Search is a new paradigm in search that could make modern search giants start to look dated. It's also a powerful new vehicle for discovery. Ultimately, Graph Search is smart, original, and a foundational piece of Facebook's future as a relevant social network.

Let's talk about why.

1. Graph Search … Read more

What should Google do about Facebook Graph Search?

When Facebook introduced its next-generation search product in Menlo Park, Calif., this week, the announcement was no doubt being watched closely in nearby Mountain View.

The data that Google engineers have craved for years -- rich portraits of connections between people, places, and things, all tied to real identities -- was suddenly searchable on Facebook. It's data Google is trying to replicate, using Google+ and other products, but there's no doubt that Facebook's billion-member network has given it the advantage. You can imagine the Google crew listening to Mark Zuckerberg describe the data that underpins Graph Search … Read more

Microsoft brags: Bing is better at Facebook searching

Two days after the limited beta release of Facebook Graph Search, Microsoft's Bing search engine has provided people with a more accessible and straightforward way to uncover the status updates of their Facebook friends.

Thursday, the number two search engine announced that it has expanded its ability to display Facebook status updates and other information from friends in its social sidebar. Microsoft somewhat incoherently claims that "[f]ive times more of your friend's Facebook is now searchable on Bing," although it's not entirely clear what that means.

The social sidebar is the right-hand area that … Read more

Reality check time: Instagram A-OK with 90M monthly active users

With one little update, Instagram is out to quiet critics of its continued growth following last month's privacy policy debacle.

The photo-sharing app has 90 million monthly active users, according to its just-updated press page, as first spotted by All Things D. This is the first time the Facebook-owned property has reported active users. Previously, Instagram said that it had 100 million registered users.

The number confirms what CNET has suspected for weeks: Instagram has fully recovered from its December privacy scandal. The photo app maker had changed its terms of service with language that suggested that it would … Read more

Graph Search highlights Facebook's unwillingness to bend to Wall Street

Facebook bends to no one, particularly not bankers and investors looking for perfection. That's the message Wall Street received with the beta release of Graph Search, the social network's first milestone launch since becoming a public company.

Graph Search is Facebook's experimental take on search and alters the social-networking experience to support discovery through natural language queries on people, photos, places, and interests.

Graph Search is so significant in scope and purpose that Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg anointed the product a "third pillar," which makes it as core to Facebook as Timeline and News Feed. … Read more

Facebook dials up teens, cheapskates with free calling

Calling all teens and cheapskates, Facebook has updated its Messenger for iPhone application to allow people in the U.S. to make free voice calls to their social network friends.

Facebook members with Messenger for iPhone will find a "Free Call" button located on friends' contact info pages inside the application. A click of the button will dial up the contact in question over Wi-Fi or your phone's data connection.

Facebook started rolling out voice calls to its U.S. members today, according to The Verge. The voice-over-IP feature was first made available to Canadian users in … Read more

Facebook contributes 'Group Hug' motherboard spec to Open Compute Project

Hippie love is coming to a motherboard near you thanks to a new common slot architecture developed by Facebook.

Frank Frankovsky, Facebook's vice president of hardware design and supply chain, today announced that the company has contributed its newest motherboard specification, cutely nicknamed "Group Hug," to the Open Compute Program. Engineers at the social network founded the project 18 months ago to kick-start development around a more efficient computing infrastructure. The program has previously given birth to Open Rack and Open Vault specifications.

Facebook's Group Hug specification makes possible entirely vendor-neutral motherboards. The specification uses a … Read more

Facebook might make money from its search tool, analysts say

Facebook did not introduce a phone as many had hoped, but its new Graph Search might actually be able to generate revenue for the social-networking giant, analysts say.

Still, Facebook likely won't make much money from the tool in the near term as it focuses on user experience, analysts added, and people shouldn't expect Facebook to actually challenge Google's search dominance anytime soon.

In addition, Facebook's stock could see some short-term pressure from investors who were expecting a larger announcement like a phone or Web search, RBC analyst Mark Mahaney said.

Facebook, during an event yesterday … Read more

Facebook Graph Search: First impressions

Turn Graph Search on and your Facebook experience will never again be the same. The social network's radical take two on search transforms your entire experience: Graph Search follows you wherever you go and gives you a window to a digital world you always knew existed but never had the privilege of visiting.

On Tuesday, Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg unveiled the company's search product for finding people, places, photos, and interests. Available in limited release, Graph Search is a tool for using natural language to find information hiding in plain sight.

How you use Facebook's new … Read more

Facebook's Graph Search: Big deal or big joke?

We didn't get a Facebook phone, but Graph Search, the social network's beta tool for instant access to people, photos, places, and interests embedded within 1 trillion connections, has equally significant implications -- or maybe it doesn't.

Graph Search, available today in limited release, is Facebook search with context. A bigger search bar offers members a way to type in their natural language queries and find photos from their past, restaurants their friends have visited, music and movies their buddies like, or even potential dates, would-be pals, job recruits, or media sources. When Facebook doesn't have … Read more