The statistics-leaning, charts and graphs-heavy, “computational knowledge engine” Wolfram Alpha has added a new tool for you to parse out information about your Facebook page into different analyses that tell you about y-o-u. Find out which of your posts is most liked or most commented on. Check in which months your friends are most likely to have a birthday. Or, for something completely random, the app will spit out the most common names of your friends (eight Jessicas and seven Michaels top my list). The Verge reports:
You might think of it as a data-lover’s version of Facebook’s own Timeline, broken down into as many as 60 different reports. It is a stunning reminder of just how much Facebook knows about you and your network, and also gives you a chance to dig into your personal analytics almost as much as Stephen Wolfram has dug into his.
To run the report, go to Wolfram Alpha and type “Facebook report.” You’ll be prompted to give the site access to your Facebook account (how else did you think it was going to analyze you?), then the app goes to work. My report came back in less than a minute, granted I’m not that heavy of a Facebooker.
One tool that wasn’t immediately clear, at least to me, is that you can dig deep on information about your friends too. Click on a name in your report and Wolfram drills down into any of your friend’s data that is publicly available. One more reason to quadruple check your Facebook security settings. You never know when someone’s going to Wolfram you.
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