Technology

Lunchtime Links: Facebook’s Graph Search Gets Granular

Facebook's search bar gets an upgrade. Plus: how a digital world might make physical spaces seem a bit out of date.

No need to play detective. Facebook makes browsing content easier with its retooled Graph Search functionality. The scoop, and more, in today’s Lunchtime Links:

Search no further: Gone are the hours spent scouring Facebook for that one comment from years back. Now, just plug in the specifics of your detective work to the site’s much-heralded Graph Search. Los Angeles Times tech writer Salvador Rodriguez explains that the upgraded search function scans through updates, comments, check-ins, photo captions, and status updates. (Anyone else find that a little creepy?) On top of all that, users can browse by topics and time, specific locations, and types of places. Much like Graph Search itself, Facebook released the update to select users, though the entire network will eventually have access to the revamped function.

Baggage drop-off: Negativity is natural—but positive thoughts bear better charms. Speaker, mentor, and blogger Rosetta Thurman charts the benefits of positive affirmations to reinforce your own productive behavior. Among her suggestions: Frame statements in the present tense—like “I work out all the time” instead of “I will work out.” Doing so, she says, makes your subconscious believe the behavior stated is fact, not suggestion. First person is key—you’re talking about the changes you want to see in yourself. Thurman also suggests keeping a journal handy. “I like to say affirmations during my morning routine when I wake up to set the tone for my day,” she writes. How could you work something similar into your day?

Are offices old school? Back in the good ol’ days, meetings allowed face time, and cubicles provided a concrete base to get work done. Today’s concrete can be remote. And hats off to Apple, which put Facetime in app form. So why do we still need office spaces? That’s the question Chess Media Group cofounder and Forbes contributor Jacob Morgan poses in his latest article. Web capabilities allow workers to tap in to in-person meetings. Mobile access provides digital reach to workplace files. As a result, today’s employee are ready to work, they just want flexibility in where they do so, Morgan says. “For organizations that want to attract and retain top talent, it almost seems essential that employees not be required to work full-time from an office,” he writes. “This isn’t about removing face-to-face communication; it’s about not relying on that as the only option.”

Where lies the future of your office space? Tell us in the comments.

(Facebook screenshot)

Emma Beck

By Emma Beck

Emma Beck is a contributor to Associations Now. MORE

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