Launched on Monday, the Facebook Graph Search is what's being called “an attempt to fix a problem the social media network helped create”. I suppose this is referring to the immense Facebook member population, friend requests, shares, likes, and most of all, the undeniable truth that we are “friends” with a lot of people who aren't really our friends. Graph search is supposed to alleviate this notion by allowing its users to be friendly rather than friending. But hey, like any corporation, this does not come without huge benefits to Facebook, and I will explain exactly why.

First of all, the Graph Search is alleged to allow Facebook users more control over their social agendas. You are now allowed to graph and correlate which users have certain things in common with others by making it easier to see information others have shared. Do you like face painting and Metallica? You can now search to find friends you may never knew had the same interests as you, and, um, go hang out with them? Sounds a little odd to me. Don't get me wrong, who doesn't like to try new things or meet new people? But Facebook making data about our acquaintances and ourselves more available does not mean we are actually going to go hang out with them, however, that it said to be the aim of the graph. In fact, the average user has 300 or more friends and an average of 7 percent being people the user has never met! Even further, having even 150 friends in real life is nearly impossible for the average human to mentally handle, one psychologist says.

So why would we need to change from having generic friends to finding people we could go get face painted then see Metallica with? We don't really. There is not only countless means of privacy that could be inhibited here due to this new graph, but Facebook and its advertisers are in it for their own reason. Bags of dough. For Facebook to solicit ad money, they must show their advertisers who likes what in order to prove the ad agencies will target correctly and make their own money. I mean, come on, how many folks do you know are ready to start a new friendship based on a couple shared interests? Many of us are settled in our own lives and circles, and an invitation from a loose acquaintance sure wouldn't get my attention. I honestly think the Facebook Graph Search is a good step for the company (because money) but also a good time for it's users to once again tweak their privacy settings. After all, doesn't it sound more appealing to stick with friends who do not need to log onto Facebook to remember what I like? I'd rather invite those peeps to my dinner party next week.