Google Plus One Social Button

Okay, I know that I’ve blogged about Google planning to build a social network to rival Facebook before – but I’ve never expected it to be like this. It’s not really a social network. It’s more of a social button just as how Facebook’s ‘Like’ button works. It’s called Google Plus One (+1)

Same Banana?

I think that Google got the idea of data gathering and social integration from Facebook’s ‘Like’ button, though they didn’t apply it as a social network in Orkut, rather, they applied it in an area where they are a dominant player – Search.

I honestly think that this is a big leap for the search giant. The implications of the +1 button could be big – as big as how the ‘Like’ button of Facebook is now. Facebook’s button is in almost every website to date. If Google could do that too with the +1 button (I’m not sure how since it only appears in the SERPs thus far) the data they could harvest could greatly impact the effectiveness of their AdWords – and perhaps they can start something else…

They can start something like how Facebook targets their advertisments – through demographics and preference. Especially since all Google profiles will go public or be deleted in July 31.

Google Profiles will MOVE

I think that more and more people will be more aware of their Google profiles. More and more people will suddenly try to fix and tweak what they have in Google once this +1 button really gets rolling. We all have to.

If Google can leverage on this new feature that they’re building (and perhaps follow a model like Facebook’s) then I can already say that it’s gonna be an exciting year ahead as search turns to become more social, right Matt?

“The primary benefit is that search gets better. It gets better in the user interface immediately, and we’ll look at it as a potential signal to improve search quality as well. I find social search extremely useful, especially with the recent updates. This change continues the evolution of social search, and it’s a natural progression to improve the search experience”  – Matt Cutts

Right.

Author’s Note: Google+ has shut down. Read more about it here.