The Searchable Face(book)

So Facebook has opened its doors to Google. Fairly soon people will be able to search for other people on Facebook without being a member of the social networking site. The walled garden has a door - or at least a window.

I wonder, will this make Facebook more like Myspace? A site where people go to connect with people they don't yet know (or might never know) in "real life"? So far, Facebook seems to meet Zuckerberg's original goal: connect people who already know each other in real life, and strengthen offline social connection. Something like telephone 2.0. Myspace, on the other hand, was originally designed as a way for musicians to network with each other, and market themselves on the web. A way for people to meet people that they didn't or perhaps could never meet in person.

Now that Facebook has teamed up with Google, it is worth considering whether this will change the ways people use this social networking software. Will an expanded search result in a greater use of Facebook for business networking? Will there be more spam? Will this expand people's Facebook network? Probably all these things are true. I'll see you there.