Is Facebook a threat to search engines?

I am reading about the rise of social media (particularly Facebook) and how it might pose a risk to search engines in the way people look for and find information on the web. I don't know much about social media, so can people share their ideas on how this may happen and what do website owners do to ensure they give themselves the best chance to draw traffic from Facebook and other social elements.

 

No. Facebook is not a search engine.. Well, maybe a people's search engine, but it clearly isn't focusing on fighting Google. Take an example from the new "Messages". It could easily be just e-mail, and it would have worked.

 

Facebook can become a thread to google only if they create themself a search engine, with other new features, with more accurate results than google.

 

social networking and search engine are 2 different niches but facebook is fighting for no 1 spot on web .recently they made users media(pictures, videos) public to get more traffic from SE .now they are no 2 traffic getter according to Alexa.

 

Well not really unless facebook lauches a better search engine than google. Currently facebook is going to launch their email i.e you will get emails like , it may be a threat to all the email providers like gmail,yahoo, etc

I hope that facebook will not put his leg in the search engines arena.

 

No facebook or any other social networking site can't pose a threat to search engines because the amount of data that we get is often limited, authentic.And one cannot get everything from fb or any other social networking sites.

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Facebook will challenge Google AD income is for sure

 

No way. Facebook is glorified email, and people are already getting sick of it. It keeps people too connected. I really don't want my long lost aunt IMing me via Facebook every day.

 

Facebook has a huge audience and a huge untapped potential; it is a serious threat to a lot of sites, not just search engines. The question, however, is can it make itself a player in another online industry such as the search engine market.

 

I dont think the social media and search engine is in the same bracket. Facebook and Google is different and they cant collide in any way.

 

Yes, I think so. As I know, Google hates Facebook very much, which suggests that Facebook maybe a big thread to Google.

 

Nope.. Unless FB change / releasing a real and better search engine. Privacy is a big concern for FB user, should they make all user's data public, I believe people are leaving.

 

Facebook not search engine so it's not threat, in future if Facebook comes on search engines area then it will be threat for other search engines, so right now possibility is nil for Facebook search engine.

 

Facebook is already in the #2 spot of the most popular website in the world. However, we could not tell yet what would happen next. What if Facebook would really make a search engine? Or even the Facebook Mail?

 

This is not in any way far from the truth man.Facebook is not a search engine.Google is Google,Facebook is Facebook.LOL

 

Yup. agree with you. no doubt facebook is getting unbelievable users but its not a search engine. so no comparison b/w facebook and google.

 

I already have a facebook email id and use it.. It has nothing to to with gmail or any email provider.

 

i dont think it will be challenging.

 

however, is it really true that Facebook already tops at the rankings? This would really become a threat to Google.

 

Facebook becomes a net inside the net. So it's possible, wondering why they haven't started their own search engine by now.