Facebook Makes All Public Posts (Two Trillion of Them) Searchable For Everyone
The following is not only search news from Facebook but also an IMPORTANT reminder to make sure your privacy settings for this and all social networks are set exactly the way you want them.
From Macworld:
It used to be so easy to fly under-the-radar on Facebook. You could prevent people from searching for you by name, then that went away. You could rely on old photos staying in the past, but then Facebook rolled out Memories so everyone can relive great (or awful) moments with you. You could count on years-old posts not being swept up in a search dragnet just because you used a certain keyword, but now that, too, is a lost hope. Facebook just made all 2 trillion public posts searchable.
Facebook’s new search options are currently available for US English users on iPhone, Android and desktop.
From the Facebook Newsroom:
Today, we’re updating Facebook Search so that [our emphasis] in addition to friends and family, you can find out what the world is saying about topics that matter to you.
- Better search suggestions: When you tap into the search box and start typing, we’ll now offer timely, personalized search suggestions. As you type, we’ll highlight things that are happening right now so you can follow popular stories as they unfold.
- Search results with public posts and posts from friends: When you search, you’ll now see the most recent, relevant public posts along with posts from your friends. Search results are organized to help you cut through the noise and quickly understand what the world is saying about a topic in the moment. You also can pull-to-refresh and see the latest public posts.
- Find public conversations with search: When a link gets shared widely on Facebook, it often anchors an interesting public conversation. Now there’s a new way to quickly dive into that discussion. With one tap, you can find public posts about a link, see popular quotes and phrases mentioned in these posts, and check out an aggregate overview of sentiment.
- This feature is a first step—we look forward to people using it and giving us feedback so we can make it even better.
Read the Complete Facebook Announcement (With Screenshots)
Direct to Facebook Search Info Page
Direct to Facebook’s Privacy Primer (Who Can See What)
Filed under: News, Patrons and Users
About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.