After much hype over the big Facebook announcement, the social media site unveiled its new Graph Search feature today, where users can search for pretty much anything friend-related.
While some were hoping that Mark Zuckerberg would reveal a Facebook phone or confess that he stole the idea of Facebook from the Winklevoss twins, the Graph Search news is spooking at least one rival social media company. Social review site Yelp saw its stock sink as much as 8.5 percent Tuesday after Facebook unveiled Graph Search.
Facebook’s new feature should worry Yelp when it comes to listing and recommending places, as detailed reviews of local places by its users are its bread and butter. Since Facebook has potential strength in numbers, Yelp may be in trouble when Facebook users can find things like “Thai restaurants liked by my college friends” or “Coffee shops featuring organic Java beans” without leaving the social media site. The Graph Search feature is one way Facebook is monetizing its data and keeping its users interested a few minutes longer, and Yelp will need to find ways to compete with that.
[…] vacation photos from the user and other photos he was tagged. The Graph Search can also act like a Yelp-like service where users can find recommendations for restaurants, stores and more based on Facebook friends’ […]
[…] told the girls they could only have another dog if they got a million likes for their cause on Facebook. He apparently doesn’t know about the wish-granting (also life-destroying) power of the internet […]