Hasta La Gadget!

Facebook this morning announced “Graph Search,” a way to search all of Facebook’s content for queries tailored to your profile. CEO Mark Zuckerberg explained the search by saying, “Graph Search is meant to answer very specific questions like ‘Who are my friends in San Francisco?” In a video released by Facebook just after the announcement, project lead Lars Rasmussen (formerly of Google Maps / Waves fame) related a story about needing a dentist in a town he’d just moved to, and being able to search through which dentists his friends used for a tailored result. Worry not, privacy protectors: we’re told Graph Search is “privacy aware;” Facebook’s even dedicated 10 percent of its computing power just to the goal of ensuring privacy. And no, none of your privacy settings will automatically change as a result of signing up or using Graph Search.

It’s being touted as a return to Facebook’s roots, when the company’s main goal was forging connections between people (rather than, say, a gaming portal, or a means for companies to advertise). Graph Search is essentially a relaunch of Facebook’s internal search engine, allowing its already existing users to forge new relationships with folks they may not otherwise meet, and to find content that’s hyper-specific. The beta — albeit in a limited, English-only capacity — kicks off today. During that period only a “subset of content” is available through search, with four primary areas of focus: people, photos, places, and interests. Facebooks says Graph Search will expand, “over the coming months,” with additions like searchable wall posts and song listens (only if your privacy settings allow those things to be searchable, that is).

You can head right here to get whitelisted for the beta, which is apparently rolling out “very slowly.” Or you could head past the break right now for the full PR from Facebook and a walkthrough video, as well as a slew of updates from our liveblog.

Continue reading Facebook launching ‘Graph Search’ personalized social search engine, beta starts today (video)

Filed under: Internet, Software, Facebook

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The invites are out, with Facebook teasing us that it’s been building something for all to see. What exactly does Zuckerberg have in store? Stay tuned, as we’ll be bringing you the news as it happens right here on our liveblog.

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In this episode of “What could possibly go wrong?!“, allow us to introduce you to DCM Dealer. Billed as an “online trading platform,” this here project was whipped up by the same London-based investment outfit (DCM Capital) that went belly-up after losing some $40 million in assets in just one month during the summer of 2011. Granted, that was a pretty tough time in the market, and it did manage to squeeze out a 1.9 percent gain in the period it was open, but it’s still worth keeping in mind. Now, the firm is hoping to catch a second wind with a tool that mines Twitter, Facebook, and the whole of social media in order to pick up clues about the public’s view on a stock. Reportedly, it’ll spit out real-time ratings from 0 (negative) to 100 (positive), giving investors yet another “leading indicator” on what to invest in flip for a quick buck.

Founder Paul Hawtin confesses: “This is not some kind of holy grail of buy-sell signals that’s guaranteed to make you money. This is an additional layer of market information…markets are driven by greed and fear, so if you can understand fear and quantify it in real-time, you could use that to protect yourself.” We’ll leave it to the 99 percent to comment on the idea below.

Filed under: Internet, Alt

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Source: CNBC, DCM

Facebook had a banner year in 2012. It became a publicly-traded company, acquired Instagram, and continued to evolve its social network through added features and countless app updates. What’re we gonna see from Mark Zuckerberg and pals in 2013? It’s tough to tell, but at least part of Facebook’s future will be revealed tomorrow when the company shows off something new it’s been building. Might it be, at long last, the fabled Facebook phone? There’s only one way to find out, so join us tomorrow for our liveblog right here at 1:00pm ET, where you can learn all about the social network’s next big thing.

Filed under: Internet, Facebook

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This week the folks at Pulse have opened the floodgates for a variety of social networking feeds into their already well-established visual user interface for news consumption. This update takes Pulse up to the next level of all-encompassing integration with each of the systems you work with on the daily. This may be the biggest upgrade to Pulse since its original launch back two years ago for iOS (and this update works with Android, too!)

Along with simple pull-in abilities for Facebook, Instagram, Flickr, Tumblr, and YouTube, this version of Pulse adds a whole new video and photo viewing interface. You’ll be able to push back basically everything but the essentials – including a simple one-shot interface with the creator of each bit of content. This interface is ever-so-slightly different depending on if you’re working with iOS or Android, it keeping a clean face either way.

You’ll be able to add your favorite feeds from the new social network affiliations listed by heading to the blue Add Content button at the bottom left of your navigation bar. You’ll swipe over to Social or “What’s New” and you’ll tap the + button to add your favorite feed to a page. When you head back to the page you’ve added it to, there it’ll be!

Pulse will be highlighting key channels from each of the big additions over the next week – and they’ll be sure to keep up the fun into the future as well! You’ll find SlashGear’s YouTube page particularly enticing, and don’t forget to Like SlashGear on Facebook so we show up through your newly integrated Facebook feed as well! Pulse is available for Android and iOS right this minute for free – grab it!

Pulse integrates Facebook, Instagram, Flickr, Tumblr, and YouTube is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
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