Liking to Outrank Linking?

Facebook’s Open Graph protocol is a shot across Google’s bow, but will the power of the “like” exceed that of the link, asks Mathew Ingram. “Knowing what our friends or Facebook users in general have recommended is useful in some cases — when looking for a hotel or restaurant, for example — but might be less useful in other cases. There’s no question, however, that the Open Graph data Facebook is collecting could become a real alternative to a simple Google search for some users. Being able to search for recommendations from close to half a billion users could be very powerful.”