Lexicon is a new semi-public program that allows users to search specific data that Facebook captures. Unlike Google Trends which tracks the number of times a specific topic is searched in a given time frame, Lexicon tracks the number of times a term is posted on someone's wall.
Movies provide a good example of how it works. When I'm going to a movie and updating a friend, I'll usually mention the name of it in my post ("I just went to Juno" or "Want to go to 21?"). When other friends view [or creep] on my friends wall, they might read my post and also become interested in what we've been discussing. They might even think about seeing Juno because of the fact that I've just gone.
Here is an example of how many times Juno was referenced on a wall, event or group based on Lexicon's data. I've also compared it with "21":
You can see that the data set isn't totally accurate - especially for a search like "21". A large reason to use Facebook is to remember your friend's birthdays and the spikes on 21 most likely represent the multitude of "Happy 21st B-day" messages that are constantly posted.However it's interesting to view in the context of Juno. Juno was released to the North American masses in November and you can see how the momentum built around the film and peaked just after New Years. What's interesting is the steep incline at the outset (highlighting the buzz around the film) and the slow burn that occurred for months afterward (people discussing and encouraging others to see the movie).
Although Lexicon might not yet have the functionality of Google Trends, it can help a brand track the initial success of a campaign on it's "talk-ability" factor. When you're launching a campaign, do people mention or talk about it in their day to day social networking?
Learn more about Lexicon on the official Facebook blog.
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