Facebook’s search option just got wider and better for its users. Facebook’s original search option was only limited to pages, people, groups, events, apps and trending topics. It has now improved its search option that helps you find not just pages and people but also posts.
The new search option rolled out by Facebook will see three new changes. Users will be able to search for posts that were shared publicly or posts that were shared by friends, search what people are saying about specific events or topics and get personalised suggestions.
The social network is expected to roll out the new feature on iOS and Android apps and on the site version. The earlier search version was useful in finding specific pages or people but of little help when searching for general information and the new change could help change that.
The new search option will also highlight topics that are trending enabling you to follow an event or an incident that is capturing the imagination of those on the internet and on Facebook.
It also helps catch up on a particular topic that your friends have been posting on. For example, a search on #ManchesterUnited will show not just the official fan page of the football club but also posts related to Manchester United made by your friends and public figures.
The same will be applied to various interests like music, movies etc that will enrich the search experience on Facebook much like the Twitter search that produces similar results.
Facebook will ensure that the option doesn’t invade its users’ privacy meaning any post that was limited to a particular group of people will remain in that group and not show up in the search of users not limited to the group.
But if you have made embarrassing posts in the past that were public then it will show up in searches. With companies using Facebook as a preliminary assessment of potential recruits, one might want to review privacy tags of older posts.
Facebook’s VP of search, Tom Stocky, wrote that it would also be able to gauge the public opinion on various events/incidents.
“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.”
