What is Google +1? My primeval taste!

If your a regular reader of my blog(I hope so :) ) you’ll probably have noticed the addition of the Google+1 button just underneath my post titles. But what is Google+1 , I hear you ask!

PS: You can also find a Google+1 button on Netgains page! :) click it.

For quite a long time Google has been trying to find a way of competing with Facebook and develop Google into more of a social network. The Google+1 is their first step in that direction (Orkut is only popular in Brazil and India, I donnot think it's a successful product). Clicking on Google+1 is a way of endorsing a post, website or search result. It works in a similar way to the Facebook 'like' button. 

The one drawback is that you must have a Google public profile to be able to use it. But in this day and age who doesn’t have some kind of Google account LOL, whether it be for Blogger, Reader, Gmail, Maps or any of the other multitude of Google services. Those who have a Google account but without a  Google Profile will see the personalized Google+1  but can’t add them, and those who aren’t logged into Google will see aggregated Google+1  data.

Search results will also have a Google+1  button next to them so recommendations aren’t limited to actual webpages. The sites or search results that you recommend will be visible to any contacts in your Google network and you can look on your profile to see your list of contacts. It’s not limited to your Gmail contact list either, it can also include contacts made via Google Talk, Reader, Blogger and YouTube. There’s also talk of them also integrating your contacts from Twitter. 

Google+1  is still in its infancy so I fully expect them to add more features in the future. The rumour mill is in overdrive at the moment concerning what direction this new feature will take, with some analysts predicting that the Google+1  button may be replacing or influencing Google PageRank eventually.

I’m not so sure on how to implement the button on Blogger but I’d assume u add it via the widgets library.

To add it to a self hosted WordPress blog just search for ‘Google+1′ in the plugins section of your dashboard or if like me you use the Thesis theme, you can just click on this link for full instructions on how to add the button without the need for a plugin.

I hope you guys find this post useful in learning exactly what the Google+1 button is for.

And if you cannot get an invitation to Google+1 , you can leave your Gmail in the comments. :)