Remember 15 years ago when people would search the white or yellow pages to find information about people or businesses? My how times have changed!
In recent years, people have been using search engines, like Google, when looking for places to order flowers, where to purchase the latest books, or even looking for addresses or phone numbers. They have remained steady, but are they slowly losing their edge due to Facebook and other social media sites?
Search engines will remain steady when people are looking for commodities, but when people are looking for information on a service, product, or topic, they will likely gain knowledge through social media. These sites allow people to post opinions, experiences and top picks with a click of a button and makes this information available instantly. No more having to physically search through a book or scroll through unwanted websites. Plus, people are more likely to trust the opinions of their friends. Think about it. If you are looking for a great restaurant to go to in Atlanta, would you most likely ask Google, or ask a friend in the area?
Facebook has lots of users, approaching 700 million users, with an overwhelming majority updating their statuses at least once per day. Businesses and products have their own pages where people can find out information and read reviews. Users can press the “Like” button and will be displayed on their profile for all their friends to see. Facebook also offers a search bar, just type in Yepser, and it will take you to our business page! This makes searching easy and it can all be done in one place.
Social media sites can make recommendations for products or services based on information you put on your profile; this makes these sites more specific to customers. Google doesn’t have the information to do that.
The world is changing every day and although people are going to continue to use Yahoo, Bing, or Google, social media sites are finding new ways to compete with these major search engines. Facebook has now launched a new real-time search engine and even bought FriendFeed. And Facebook isn’t the only social media outlet where people can get information. People are also using Twitter, blogs, and even smartphone apps to gain knowledge and resources. As social media continues to grow and improve with new engineering additions, it will change the way people look at search engines. Watch out Google!
