As I write, Jay – Z is a trending topic on Twitter. Every few seconds a flurry of tweets arrive containing links and comments about the release of his new music video, Run This Town. A similar thing is happening on Facebook.
On Facebook the search term “Jay – Z” results in a long list of status updates sharing the artist’s YouTube video with their friends. It’s a fascinating realtime snapshot of what’s catching mainstream attention on the net.
There are a number of filters in the new search area. The two of most interest are Posts by Friends and Posts by Everyone. At the moment extended trading hours is the hot political issue here in Western Australia. By clicking on the Posts by Friends filter I’m quickly able to gauge the reaction of my friends to the governments decision not to extend trading hours. They’re not happy.
The Posts by Everyone filter displays status updates from users who have their status updates privacy setting as Everyone. There are a number of sub-filters that can be applied to a search that produce results that are more relevant.
Many Facebook users are unaware that their status updates are searchable. After all the privacy settings on Facebook are complex and, at times, difficult to understand. It’s therefore important that individuals take responsibility for creating privacy settings that reflect what they want the public to know.
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