I see two problems with this:
- Facebook will have a problem managing the public/private divide. Making some things public and some things private makes the logic exponentially more complex. Not just the programming, but the semantics of it — telling me clearly whether am I sending a jello shot to just Grandma or the whole world. Facebook has already got an unusable interface. This will make it worse.
- “Real time search” is a misnomer, in that it doesn’t accurately describe what is going on with Twitter. Yes, we here at Modern Media search Twitter for “TWTRCON” and our competitors. But the real value for both our audience and us is “real-time call & response,” the paradigm and shining example of which was the case of the veggie sandwich and the Hotel Nikko at TWTRCON SF 09. The concierge had just started her Twitter account the morning of our event; grasped how to use it; and put it into action brilliantly. The result was a happy (vegetarian, I’m assuming) customer. Would she have been able to do the same with Facebook (remembering that they will be making it more complex rather than less?)
