Google +1 Unveiled: Google Search Now Truly Social

It’s a big day for Google, their ”+1” project, was finally unveiled. Google +1 is basically, a “Like” button for Google Search. It was earlier speculated that Google is working on a social networking site but +1 isn’t what most people expected it to be. Even though it’s technically social, but it’s not social like a social network. ”Plus One” name is actually more literal, because all +1 is, is a tiny little box that says “+1″ next to variety of places. Initially, +1′s will appear alongside search results and ads, but in the weeks ahead they’ll appear in many more places (including other Google products and sites across the web). For example, you might see a +1 button for a Google search result, Google ad, or next to an article you’re reading on your favorite news site.

When you +1 something, the +1 button will turn blue and will be added to the +1′s tab of your Google profile. From this tab, you can manage all your +1′s and decide whether you want to publicly display the tab. But you can’t control who sees your +1′s because +1′ing is a public action. Anyone on the Web could potentially see the things you’ve +1′d. Google’s intention on launching this new feature is to make search more relevant, or personally relevant.

The +1 button will appear next to a search results or search ads title.

Friends and contacts of the user will then be able to see the recommendation just below the search result or search ad.

Google also plans to offer a +1 button for webmasters as well who can put the button on their websites, just like the Facebook Like button.

“We’re confident that +1, combined with all of the social content we’re now including in search, will mean even better, more relevant results than you get today”, says Google in the +1 launch announcement post.

For more information about +1, watch this video:

Right now the +1 button is available to a small slice of Google’s signed in US users as an experiment. The people who have the +1 button now were chosen at random. If you don’t have the +1 button, but want to try it out, you can enroll in our +1 button experiment. Before you sign up, make sure you:

• Use a supported browser.
• Access www.google.com in English from the US.
• Have the most recent Google navigation bar with the gear icon in the top corner of the page.
• Sign in/sign out of your Google Account to refresh your cookies.
• Are signed in to your Google Account, and remain so while you want to see the +1 button experiment.

If you meet these requirements, enroll in the +1 button experiment on the Google Experimental page. Once you enter the +1 button experiment, a +1′s tab will be added to your Google profile where you can manage your +1′s. If you want to un-enroll from the experiment, just click Leave on the Google Experimental page. This will remove the +1′s tab from your profile.