Google Adds Intregrated Social Search for Google+
The reasons for joining Google+ just got bigger, as the powerful search engine adds Google+ features to it’s search pages. Users now have the option to search the web with Google, or search within the Google+ social sphere, without having to leave the Goole search pages. An icon that looks like a person will appear for users signed into Google+ whilst searching using Google, which highlights search results found within Google+, and gives users the option to search the web (globe icon) or Google+ (person icon).
Furthermore, underneath the search bar, results in Google+ will feature first and will be labelled “personal results” followed by “other results”.
Google calls the search update “Search plus Your World.” Jack Menzel, product management director of search, explained that now Google+ members will be able to “search across information that is private and only shared to you, not just the public web.”
Twitter Disagree’s with Google’s Latest Social Media Push
After it was announced early this week that Google+ information will be prioritised through Google results, there has been some disagreement from social media competitors, in particular, Twitter.
A statement from the microblogging company said Twitter’s real-time information was often the most relevant result on Google. “As we’ve seen time and time again, news breaks first on Twitter,” the company said. “We’re concerned that as a result of Google’s changes, finding this information will be much harder for everyone.”
Twitter spokesman Matt Graves had this to say:
“For years, people have relied on Google to deliver the most relevant results anytime they wanted to find something on the Internet.
Often, they want to know more about world events and breaking news. Twitter has emerged as a vital source of this real-time information, with more than 100 million users sending 250 million Tweets every day on virtually every topic. As we’ve seen time and time again, news breaks first on Twitter; as a result, Twitter accounts and Tweets are often the most relevant results.
We’re concerned that as a result of Google’s changes, finding this information will be much harder for everyone. We think that’s bad for people, publishers, news organizations and Twitter users.”
Social Media Restrictions for Olympic Volunteers
There have been reports of social media restrictions being put in place upon volunteers for London’s 2012 Olympics. The ‘Game Makers’ make up around 70,000 volunteers, and have been prevented from posting behind-the-scenes updates or info such as their roles, locations or photos of athletes to any social media site.
There has been an angry backlash aimed at the organising committee as it is assumed many of the Games Makers would probably want to use social media to share the experience of the event with friends and family.
However, these restrictions although unfair, will be an important security measure. Details about locations could cause security problems, not to mention the irritation athletes are likely to feel, should a volunteer be photographing them in training.
Facebook Launches ‘Listen With’ Button
At the F8 conference last year Facebook promised more ways to interact and share media. Since then, music app’s have proved extremely popular, such as the Rdio and Spotify apps, with users listened to tracks appearing on their timeline and playing tracks being updated into the ticker bar for friends to see.
As of this week Facebook has taken this further, and will now let you listen to music with your friends and chat at the same time. The Facebook blog announced:
“Look for the music note in the chat sidebar to see which of your friends are listening to music. To listen with a friend, hover over their name, and click the Listen With button. The music will play through the service your friend is using. When a new song plays, you’ll come along for the ride, discovering new music while your friend DJs for you.”