Facebook has just introduced Facebook Signal, a tool that can be used
by the journalists to seek and collect contents from Facebook or Instagram, and
then put them into the article they make. If you remember, in last April
Twitter was already presenting a similar tool called Twitter Curator.
Just like the Twitter Curator, Facebook Signal also allows
journalists to view the trending topic (hashtag) on Facebook. Select one of the
topics, and then Facebook Signal will display the relevant contents in
chronological order. It's only the public posts that will appear here, so you
don't have to worry if your private post will be exposed by the journalists.
Facebook Signal will also facilitate the journalists to see
the famous people who are most talked about in every day. The search function
is of course also given so that the journalists can browse a wide range of
contents related to the topic or news they make. But most importantly, after
finding a content that can be used as a reference, Facebook Signal is promising
that the embed process would take place so easily.
In Instagram, the Facebook Signal serves to find photos or
videos based on the topic (hashtag) or location through an interactive global
map. For example a journalist is covering a story in a small town; he can look
for the collection of photos and videos that are coming from the town. If he
finds a picture related to his story, he can embed it directly into his
publication site.
The best part is the Facebook Signal can be used by
journalists for free. Facebook explains that the Facebook Signal is the first
step in its mission to maximize the role of Facebook and Instagram in the
journalism world.