Facebook’s future – The Open Graph

Quentin MaheDigital Strategist

Saint@RKCR

@qmahe

“We are building a web where the default is social.”

What’s the starting point?

From now on, any website can become part of the Facebook ecosystem, outside of Facebook.com

Facebook wants to flood the web with these pieces of functionality, adding a social skew to each and every site.

Every action taken through social plugins embedded throughout the web will flow back to your profile, and especially to the “Open graph”

Facebook Open Graph is an attempt to map all the complex interactions existing between you, your friends and the content you all like = mapping your interests and cross-interests.

How does it works?How do you feed the Open Graph?

The Recommendation and Like plugins let users share any content they like back to their profile.

The Activity Feed plugin shows users what their friends are doing on your site through likes and comments.

What are the implications…

For users?

With Facebook Open Graph, wherever you go on the web, you will carry your preferences, behaviours and friends with you.

http://stuartfrew.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/image10.png

The Open Graph is your “portable user”

The Open Graph will allow totally personalised and integrated digital experiences (fictive example)

1. You’ve liked several bands on Facebook

2. You allow Spotify to access your Open Graph - it displays the latest songs/albums from your favourite bands, tells you their upcoming gigs nearby your location, and you can see which of your friends will attend these gigs.

3. You decide to buy a ticket for one of the gigs. On the gig’s page, a box reminds you which of your friends will attend the event, but also those who like the band and might like to come with you (offering a group ticket discount?)

Recommendations now come from your trusted friends, not strangers

Likebutton.me allows you to keep track of what your friends have liked on most popular sites.

For advertisers/publishers?

Better knowledge of your audience (demographics + location)

And how they engage with your site (most popular and relevant bits of content)

Drive traffic from Facebook (450M users and growing)

This will open up developing more relevant attitude based advertising/content/offers

For Google?

Facebook’s deeper knowledge of your tastes as much as those of your friends might make it the new most relevant search engine, offering truly personalised search results.

Facebook success isn’t guaranteed…

■ Potential privacy concerns – Users may not be comfortable with logging into other websites through Facebook, and giving access to their Open Graph.

■ Hegemonic Facebook - Companies may not like losing control of the registration and login process on their website. Especially those which have already created their own community around a common interest (e.g. Last.fm around music lovers)

■ Competitors’ reaction - What about the competition? How will they respond to this move? Google, Twitter, Yahoo…

Resources

Facebook developershttp://developers.facebook.com/http://developers.facebook.com/pluginshttp://developers.facebook.com/docs/opengraph

OthersOpen Graph and the rise of the social web, Stefano Maggi (We are Social)Mashable.comTechcrunch.comCNN.comGuardian.co.ukLikebutton.me

Thanks!