Facebook Graph Search

It's been several months since Facebook introduced Graph Search, and if you have it, you may be wondering what it's good for. The short answer: A lot of things! Here are some clever ways to make use of Graph Search if you already have it, and some reasons to sign up to get it if you don't have it already.

Facebook Graph Search has been slowly rolling out to the users that signed up for it way back in January, when it was initially unveiled. Some of us at Lifehacker HQ have had it for a while, but some of us have only recently gotten our hands on it, so we got to thinking about some ways you could make the most of it if it's your turn to try it out. If you don't have it already, you can read more about it and sign up here. Once you have it, here are a few creative things you can do with it:

 If you're planning a trip and need some suggestions on places to visit or restaurants to try, usually your friends who live in a given city are great people to ask for advice. With Graph Search, you may not even have to ask them—unless you're looking for friends or people who live in that town to hang out with or visit when you're there. Here are a couple of searches you can do to help charge up your itinerary with interesting spots and tasty eateries, and people who may be willing to visit them with you:

• Restaurants in [City Name] my friends like. This one will show you all of the restaurants (and their Facebook pages) that your friends—whether they live in the town or not—have liked. Great for finding spots your friends enjoyed enough to actually like on Facebook, and places that only the locals know about (especially if you stumble on a restaurant page with only a handful of likes).
• Restaurants nearby my friends have liked. This one shows you places near you, so you don't even have to fill in the city. Perfect if you're out in the middle of nowhere, or you're looking for something to eat close by.
• Restaurants in [City Name] liked by people who live in [City Name]. Want to really eat like a local? Visit the places the locals love. Sure, some popular places will float to the top, but you'll get a better look at some of the highly rated restaurants that people who actually live in that town enjoy.
• Places in [City Name] my friends like. Looking for a museum to visit, an art gallery, or a concert hall? Maybe another tourist attraction or memorial worth your time when you're in town? This search will give them to you.
• My friends who live in [City Name]. In case you're not sure which of your friends lives where you're planning to visit, this will give you a full list—you never know, you may find someone you've been out of touch with that you'll want to hang out with again.
• My friends of friends who live in [City Name]. Interested in meeting new people? This one's a bit trickier because it's always kind of awkward to say "Hey, I'm a friend of Matt's! I'm going to be in San Francisco next week, want to grab a drink?" Even so, if you're outgoing enough, it's a great way to make new friends.

 

• My friends who like [Band/Artist Name]. You'll never go to a concert alone again.
• My friends who like [Actor/Director/Movie Title]. If your best friend or partner has terrible taste in movies and simply refuses to go with you to the latest Nicholas Cage flick, this search will find you friends a bit more willing.
• My friends who like [Object (Wine, Beer, Barbecue, etc)]. If you'd really like to try a nearby restaruant, but it's one of those places better enjoyed with friends, this search will help you find some people to get together with and go. Similarly, if there's a local wine festival, beer festival, chili cookoff, or BBQ battle, a little creative searching will help you find a posse to take with you so you all have a good time.
• Friends of my friends who like [video games/science fiction/topic of interest]. Looking for new friends, or perhaps a potential date? This search will help you find people with whom you have a common friend and a common interest. That way even if none of your friends are into video games, or none of your friends particularly want to go see Man of Steel with you, you can find someone else who will—or at least someone else you have a lot in common with but wouldn't have known if you hadn't gone looking. Of course, you may want your mutual friend to make the introductions before you just reach out on Facebook.

• Bands my friends who like [X Type of Music] like. This is a narrower version of the "Bands my friends like," which can turn up a whole world of unusual suggestions. Try this one instead, and you can narrow down to a specific genre at least—you'll still get bands that don't fit the genre, but at least friends who actually like what you like are the ones whose opinions are counted here. Only try "Bands my friends like" if you're really desperate for suggestions—you'll get a lot of suggestions, but not all of them will be useful.
• Books my friends like. I'm a bit more confident with this one because good book recommendations are always tricky to come by, and if a friend liked a book enough to add it to their profile, they may have other great book suggestions. Again, you can narrow this down a bit by adding a book to the mix that you want in common with them, like "Books my friends who like [X Book or Y Author] like."
• Movies liked by people who like [Movie Title]. This one is universal, but it'll give you a list of movies that may be in the same vein as the one you enjoyed. For example, if you loved The Avengers, Graph Search says you'll probably also love The Wolverine, The Dark Knight Rises, and, interestingly enough, The Neverending Story. Interesting.