No, this is not a typo. I was not referring to Google. I was indeed referring to Facebook as a search engine.
What is a "search engine"? From a users perspective it is a platform where I can quickly get relevant results for whatever I am looking for. Five years back if were looking for, say a recruitment agency, I would go to Google, type "recruitment agency in Mumbai" in the search box and then in 0.182 seconds a set of results would be displayed on my computer screen. I would faithfully click on most of the links on the first page and perhaps one or two on the second page. I would look at each website and based on the communication and aesthetics of the site, perhaps shortlist 2-3 people to talk to. Chances that I would succeed in finding a suitable agency or perhaps my efforts would yield zilch result and I would be forced to continue with my existing agency.
Now in the Facebook era, my search works differently. I go to my Facebook page and type "Looking for recruitment agency in Mumbai. Referrals welcome". In the next 24 hours I have some 5 suggestions from people I know on Facebook. Since these suggestions are coming from people whom I already know, a prima facie faith in the prospective agency has already been established. I touch based with these 5 suggestions and zero in on one of them.
Alternately, I go and make a posting in LinkedIn forum regarding my requirement for a recruitment agency. In the next 2-3 days half a dozen prospective agencies have made their presence felt in my mailbox. I look up the CEOs profile, see how he is linked to me (do I know someone who also knows him, if yes, do a quick reference check) and then zero in on the agency I want to work with.
Social Media is changing the way we are looking for information. If Web 1.0 (and Google) gave us information at our fingertips (everything and more was available at the click of the enter key), Web 2.0 (and the likes of Facebook and LinkedIn) are giving us access to experience at our finger tips. If I have 200 friends on my Facebook, in effect what I am having is access to their collective experience at the tip of my finger.
