"Like" Google

Google has been a pretty popular topic for discussion this past week. In class, we watched Inside The Mind of Google. CNBC's typical "dig beyond the surface" type documentary, examined Google's precense in our every day lives. Many of us use Google to search for things on the world wide web, images, videos, blogs, news, and  a variety of other sources. One guy in the video put it best, "We confess things to the Google search box that we wouldn't even tell to a priest." Now that I've got everyone hyped up on Google, let's talk about their latest and greatest feature - the +1 button.

The majority of us have Facebook's and use it on a regular basis. No matter what you might be doing on Facebook, at one point of another you have clicked the "like" button. This little button has become a revolutionary trend. The "like" feature has crossed over to clothes, movies, and advertisements. I am proud to say that I own a few items of clothing that say "I LIKE ____." It's genius. Liking something on Facebook can have a huge affect on your Facebooking experience. In light of this, Google needed to create something just as competitive - the +1

Google advertises the +1 as "The +1 button is shorthand for "this is pretty cool" or "you should check this out." Kind of a corny advertisement if you ask me, but none the less, it's a first try. 

Much like the "like" button, the Google +1 button will allow individuals to have a more "social" experience while surfing the web. As users +1 items, it will be archived and it will allow Google to get to "know" you better and thus make your search results as fitting as possible. In order to make this a "social" experience, Google will compare items you liked with others, in an effort to bring you more results and items that it thinks you would like.

Downsides? Facebook is a very personal social media website. We expose our interests, likes, family members, favorite books, gender, and a variety of other personal information. However, Facebook is able to use these tools to make sure ads and other pop-ups are directly related to what we post. Google is lacking in this category. An article on Mashable states, "If Google could get more profiles, it could increase the accuracy of its targeting beyond keywords and browsing data." 

Feeling a little confused? Dont worry, Google provided a 1 minute video to explain the entire thing using fun pictures.