New for some, not seen by all – yet – Google has added “Shared By” and “Recent Update” elements to search result pages. Search Engine Land’s Danny Sullivan points out that some people’s results are now coming up with socially-engaging teasers such as “shared by 5+” next to news stories. Even more intriguing, a blue “recent updates” box is appearing to offer results from Twitter, MySpace, Facebook and more.
As Sullivan notes, it’s quite different than the social search partnership Bing and Facebook rolled out last week. In Bing’s new social search results, they only show users what’s been shared by Facebook connections. Google, clearly flexing its search muscles, is looking to extend users’ social search reach much further.
Earlier this month, Google tested Twitter integration with “friends” to news results, but the inclusion of multiple social networks is looking like a bold and significant change.
We saw that Google Social Search launched in Labs last October, so this development isn’t coming as a complete shocker for everyone. But where they’re going with it is interesting to observe. In Sullvan’s post, he drills into what people are seeing when they follow the breadcrumb trail, providing a glimpse of what could be just the beginning of Google’s move toward becoming a force in the social sphere: becoming a social utility.
Clicking on the “Shared by” links takes you to Google Realtime search, where you are shown all the people who are sharing that particular news story through services such as Twitter, Facebook and MySpace.
In The Wake Of Bing & Facebook, Google Web Search Tests Getting More Social (searchengineland.com)
