Facebook Not Planning On Launching External Search

March 19, 2013

Despite numerous rumors and requests pleading for the contrary, it appears Facebook will not be pursuing external search. The intentions are laid out in the article on Search Engine Land titled “Facebook: No Plans For An External Search Engine.”

The article reveals comments from Grady Burnett, Vice President of Global Marketing Solutions for Facebook, who stated that the social media giant has no plans or intentions to launch an external search engine, such as that run by Google or Bing.

The article includes an excerpt from the live blog coverage of the SMX West keynote address from Burnett:

“DS: Do you ever see Facebook wanting a dedicated search product outside of Facebook? Mentions the past rumors that Facebook might buy Bing from MSFT.

GB: I don’t see that happening. We called it ‘Graph Search’ because we’re focused on letting people search the Facebook graph. So my answer would be no.”

The James Bond Film “Never Say Never” comes to mind when we hear these kinds of statements. We think that given some time, this is not the last we will hear from Facebook on this topic. As the company explores the possibilities of graph search, the improved search capabilities discovered in the process could just be the nudge that is needed to jump into external search.

Andrea Hayden, March 19, 2013

Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Beyond Search

Written by Stephen E. Arnold · Filed Under Business strategy, Facebook, Search

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Stephen E. Arnold monitors search, content processing, text mining and related topics from his high-tech nerve center in rural Kentucky. He tries to winnow the goose feathers from the giblets. He works with colleagues worldwide to make this Web log useful to those who want to go "beyond search". Contact him at sa [at] arnoldit.com. His Web site with additional information about search is arnoldit.com.