Everyone Knows About Facebook Now
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It looks like people are searching for Facebook less often on Google over the past 3 years. Probably because everyone knows about Facebook now. People have been looking for signs of decline for many years. I was in that game too. It seemed inevitable. But perhaps Facebook is going to be the boring and persistent “climax ecosystem” of the social web for the next generation or so?
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• Tags: Miscellaneous, Technology
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There’s also the “I don’t know domain names” factor. A lot of people went to websites, not by having them bookmarked or knowing their http://www.somesuch.com domains but by remembering the name, and simply typing them on their homepage (which was the default search engine of their browser).
As people have switched to tablets and apps, they might have stopped typing Facebook in their browser and simply hit the facebook icon instead.
Of course, this isn’t the explanation for why more people search for Google on google.
Why are searches for Google increasing then?
Usually I type fac… and then my browser fills the rest for me. But sometimes, for whatever reasons, i type “fac” and then I hit enter BEFORE browser completes the address. This invokes google search on “fac” and the first found item is facebook.
I wonder how many searches for “facebook” are similarly automatically initiated.
Facebook awaits disruption. Maybe virtual reality will do the trick, because, as almost ever happens with incumbents, maybe Facebook will try to adapt VR to Facebook, and the radical winner innovator will build a new kind of network from the roots of what VR allows you to do.
I have an acquaintance who is developing a social network based on blockchain technology. I don’t claim to understand any of the technical details but the basic idea is it works on the same principles as Bitcoin and should be completely invulnerable to shutdown and censorship. I wonder if something like that could catch on in principle or if it will remain forever the domain of a few middle-aged cypherpunk nerds.
One would hope so. Both Facebook and Twitter are getting remarkably censorious over the past six months or so. That said, I don’t think that matters to 99% of people, and that Facebook’s real downfall is how fusty and old it seems now. Get the kids, the rest will follow.
Okay, I have a slightly different take on this. I work as a background investigator for the USG. And have experience with criminal investigations and tracking down personal leads. A big part of these investigations is tracking down people who know the Subject and/or can provide useful information or leads. And a big part of finding people is social media, particularly Facebook. Most background investigators will do multiple searches on one case and constantly cover their tracks (no bookmarks, no iPad app, no viewing history). Each search is done from scratch. There are millions of security clearance holders. There are hundreds of thousands of criminal investigations being done on local, state, federal level (multiple this by two– for law enforcement and criminal defense). There are tens of millions of potential new hires by private companies. Facebook is one huge investigation tool. Same things with Google.
I wonder if it is possible that usage of Facebook on mobile phones is contributing to the reduction of searches for “facebook” on Google, that is being illustrated in the graph?
I.e., if a lot of people nowadays have (the various) Facebook apps installed on their phone, then if they want to “go on” Facebook, all they would do is open up (one of) the Facebook apps on their phone.
(Google would never be hit in this process. Unlike people who would “go on” Facebook on their desktop or laptop computer, who would use a Google search to get to Facebook.)