Just months ago, Facebook began incorporating “Twitter’s” hash tag into posts in order to allow users to highlight and categorize their posts each time they wished to make something public. Taking it a step further, Facebook has just released two AVIs that will allow news outlets to access what Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) users are posting, something that they have been doing with Twitter for some time now.
The Public Feed API displays a real-time feed of public posts for a specific word, while the Keyword Insights API aggregates the total number of posts that mention a specific term in a given period, Facebook said.
The keyword API will also allow news outlets to compile results to a keyword based on location, age and gender, allowing a TV show to use this data to explain what these groups are thinking.
Access to the APIs is starting today for a limited selection of news organizations including Buzzfeed, CNN, NBC’s Today Show, The Economist, Slate, and Sky TV in the U.K., Facebook said. The company also announced that it would be adding additional media outlets shortly.
“For example, CNN’s News Day can now easily incorporate what people on Facebook have to say about the latest, breaking news event during their show,” Facebook said.
While Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) maintains that only posts made public will be used, most Facebook users will find themselves surprised if they were to take the time to find out what they are making “public.”
Not surprisingly, Facebook being Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), these public posts will also be used for advertising. Or as Facebook says, the service will also be offered to its “preferred marketing developers.” It named the first of those Mass Relevance, a social engagement platform for discovering and filtering content, which will use the new tool to highlight trends and conversations for its media clients, according to Facebook.
One can guess that by “preferred,” Facebook means its largest marketing developers.
For some time, Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) has been looking to stake its own claim to what Twitter calls the “global town square.” This, along with hash tags, will see Facebook getting closer.
According to Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), between 88 and 100 million users log in between 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. — also known as the primetime TV block. In addition, during the Superbowl in February, there were 245 million so-called interactions, or actions such as “likes” or comments, related to the event.
Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) believes that these numbers show its relevance and is also the reason that it will begin offering TV-like advertising spots on its platform shortly.
