Facebook Graph extractor

Revision as of 09:34, 22 June 2018

Wandora's Facebook extractor is deprecated due to Facebook API version changes. Wandora Team has decided not to fix the extractor after Cambridge Analytica incident where hundred of thousands of Facebook profiles were ripped and used for political advertising.

Wandora's Facebook Graph extractor is used to transform Facebook Graph feeds to topic maps. Extractor starts with menu option File > Extract > Social > Facebook Graph extractor.... In order to make an extraction, you have to have a Facebook account or a Facebook Graph JSON feed. All extractions are signed with your Facebook account and your account limits possible extractions. You have to have appropriate rights for all extracted Facebook Graph nodes.

Example

In this example Wandora user searches Facebook for Helsinki related groups. First, user selects menu option File > Extract > Social > Facebook Graph extractor....

A dialog opens up explaining steps required for successful extraction. To make a successful extraction user has to have either a local Facebook Graph JSON feed or an account to Facebook. To access feeds on Facebook, user has to log in Facebook and authorize Wandora application. Authorization requires an access token.

User clicks on Open Browser and Request Access Token button. Wandora application opens up URL http://www.wandora.org/wandora/fb/. If you have not yet logged in Facebook, browser is redirected to Facebook's log in page. User logs in Facebook. Next Facebook checks if you have already authorized Wandora Facebook application (http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=45942818365) to access your account. Wandora Facebook application is a bridge for Wandora desktop application to manage Facebook Graph extractions. User should acknowledge that Facebook Graph extractions are always signed with user's Facebook account, and Facebook account limits possible extraction. However, Wandora application doesn't know your account, only access token, and access token is forgot when Wandora application exits.

Eventually browser is redirected back to Wandora's Facebook application page with an access token text field. Now user has acquired a personal token. User copies token to system clipboard.

And pastes the token to Wandora application. Now Wandora application is capable to read Facebook Graph feeds and transform feeds to topic maps.

User clicks button Continue to Extract. User has several different options available for Facebook Graph feeds. If user has already converted some Facebook feeds to topic maps, user can build upon existing subject identifiers in her topic map, and maybe URLs tab is the best choice to continue. If user is trying extractor for the first time, she might find it interesting to extract her personal profile using tab Me. If user knows the Facebook identifier of extracted graph object, user can do the extraction at tab Ids. Search is a powerful feature giving you access to open graph nodes.

User selects Search tab and searches for Facebook groups Helsinki.

The extraction takes a while. Once the extraction finishes (or you abort the extraction by pressing Stop button) Wandora's topic tree at left hand side contains a topic called Facebook. Under Facebook you should see group topic, and below that a list of search results. One should note that the limit option haven't really limited the number of search results. If you open up one group topic, say Aalto on Tracks (287522122255), you'll see group description, owner, privacy, and update information of the group. If you like, you could continue extracting the subject identifier of topic Aalto on Tracks (287522122255) giving you a list of members etc.

Issues to consider

• Although you can transform Facebook feeds to topic maps, you have only limited rights to use, save, and publish extracted topic maps. Read Facebook Terms for more information. Especially you should acknowledge that feeds may contain information about other people. Respect people's privacy!
• Wandora application doesn't store your access tokens over use sessions as stated above. You have to request new token for each use session.