Facebook Inc. (FB): Can Graph Search Be Monetized?

Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) launched its new search tool at an event Tuesday in California, but Graph Search is not exactly going to be a threat to Google Search like some have postulated in the weeks leading up to the announcement. However, while this search tool can be dynamic and vibrant within the Facebook silo, this new service for 1 billion users will have its new but familiar challenge. Like Facebook’s challenge when it launched its mobile apps, the company will have the challenge of monetizing the new tool.

But then, does Facebook really want to do that?

While this new tool – which allows users to search posts, likes, photos, and profile information of all friends – can provide loads of new data possibilities for advertisers and marketers. But this should also make Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) a competitor  to such sites as Yelp, Foursquare, Match.com and even LinkedIn – the amount of information that is available can make it possible to job recruit and job search, as well as dating possibilities.

However, what has been notable about this new tool is more in the announcement of it. Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) made sure to demonstrate how Graph Search can help with job searches, the company did not mention anything about the possibilities with marketers and advertisers. And this might be curious since it went out of its way to mention advertising in the mobile app launches, and Facebook reported that nearly 85 percent of its revenue comes from advertising.

Nate Elliott, an analyst at Forrester, said,”Even if they figure out how to grab all this data and plug it into the ad platform, they still haven’t been able to offer it to marketers in a meaningful manner. There’s so much more and richer data that could help marketers target their programs that aren’t being used right now.”

But what about the privacy bug, which has bugged Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) for ages now?