Google Introduces Facebook-Inspired 'Like' Button

Google is reportedly implementing a feature similar to the Facebook "Like" button and will incorporate it into their popular search engine. The new social search feature, called the "+1 Experiment," allows users to recommend a certain link or website to their family and friends.

Google has big plans to compile all of the information concerning +1 activity in order to provide users with a more favorable experience when using their services.

Users Encouraged to Join Experiment

Participation in the +1 venture is not automatic, and those interested will have to take an extra minute or two to join the experiment. Those wishing to contribute are asked to visit the Google Labs page and click "Join this Experiment" in the designated +1 section.

While a bit of an inconvenience, Google remains confident that many people will still be inclined to participate because the service is readily available and easy-to-use. (Source: takarat.com)

Once an individual signs up for the service, they will see a +1 button attached to every search they conduct. All of their recommendations are then retained on a separate tab, viewable on their Google Profile, and comes with an option to make these recommendations public or private.

+1 Feature Serves Many Social Purposes

With the inclusion of the +1 feature, individuals have the ability to establish and participate in a variety of online routines, without the need for external services.

Users can now offer recommendations (which then replaces link sharing), bring attention to interesting material (replacing Digg and Reddit websites), bookmark information (replacing browser bookmarks), establish popularity polls (replacing poll plug-ins) and engage in social science research (replacing text-based voting). (Source: computerworld.com)

Advertisers to Give Thumbs Up to +1

Advertisers also have a great deal to gain from the +1 experiment.

Once consumers begin recommending their products and services, companies will have stumbled upon a lucrative support system to their established marketing efforts, though Google representatives maintain that +1 recommendations will have no bearing on overall search rankings.

As it stands, the +1 feature will be limited to the Google search engine. However, the company does plan to incorporate a similar feature into websites of all kinds, including blogs, sometime in the near future.