The tech world is still reeling from the shock of Facebook ’s sweeping changes at the F8 developers conference and their implications for privacy, the open Web, and the future of social networking. But recently introduced features like the “ like ” button for websites, social plugins , and Facebook’s Open Graph API have spurred some early-adopter developers to create end-user tools ranging from bookmarklets to search engines.
Several of these tools have been featured on major tech blogs (including this one, of course), but we wanted to create a list that enumerates them all in one place.
- Zesty.ca/Facebook
Zesty.ca/facebook – Want to see what Facebook knows about you? Don’t let the austere interface fool you – this search engine is packed with useful information. To use it, enter your Facebook ID or username (if you’ve created one) and you’ll be able to see what information is currently being shared publicly.
Screenshot from Zesty.ca - ReadWriteWeb-es
- ItsTrending
ItsTrending : IsTrending is a new website that shows you what's being shared the most across Facebook. The site divides the shares into categories like videos, news, images, sports, technology, games, entertainment, and comedy. Even if you don't use Facebook, the site is great for finding viral videos and other popular content.
IsTrending Screenshot - ReadWriteWeb-es
- LikeButton.me + WeRSocial
LikeButton.me – Similar to IsTrending, this site also focuses on popular Facebook content. However, instead of focusing on what everyone else is sharing, it looks at what our Facebook friends are sharing. It’s basically a collection of links that our friends find interesting.
WeRSocial is another application of this idea, but website development service the categories are on the left instead of in a drop-down box.
Screenshot of LikeButton.me - ReadWriteWeb-esWeRsocial Screenshot - ReadWriteWeb-es
- Open Facebook Search
Open Facebook Search – Even if you haven’t signed up for Facebook and don’t plan to ever do so, you can use Open Facebook Search. It’s a search engine for your Facebook timeline and all the public data you hold outside of Facebook. Simply enter your query and click “search” to see conversations, links, photos, and videos in real time.
Open Facebook Search Screen - ReadWriteWeb-es
OneRiot
OneRiot : The real-time search engine that has already indexed sites like Twitter, MySpace, Delicious and Digg has now added publicly shared “likes” to its index. The addition of Facebook data delivers “search results that reflect the pulse of a much, much broader social Web,” says a blog post from the company.
OneRiot Screenshot - ReadWriteWeb-es
Facebook Like Button Bookmarklet
The Facebook Like button bookmarklet allows us to “like” anything on the Internet, even if there is no “like” button on that page. Using the bookmarklet instead of a page’s “like” button protects us from “like fraud” – that is, being tricked into liking something other than the page we are on.
Bookmarklet I Like - ReadWriteWeb-es
- Facebook.me
Facebook developers have used the Open Graph API to create Facebook.me , an online service that turns our Facebook content into a blog via an app. Once we authorize the app to access our posts, comments, photos, videos, and other items, this is published on an external site. We can then customize the page using a built-in theme changer.