Google Recently announced their new social media platform, Google plus, which raised the bar on Internet searches. Together with Google, Google plus has integrated social media in your search results which gives everyone who searches with Google a unique searching experience.
So what exactly is Google social search?
In short, Google social search refers to the Google content that appears in your search results from your social media circle.
Who is your Social Circle verses your Extended Social Circle?
The idea is similar to the difference between your immediate family and extended family.
Your Social Circle includes all of the people you follow (or that you are “friends” with) on your social media platforms.
Your Extended Social Circle includes all of the people that your “friends” are following, in addition to the people that you directly follow.
How does Google know your Social Circle?
Google knows your social circle and your extended social circle by looking at your public Google+ profile. It pulls the people you are following from all of the social media platforms you have listed there. Content from the people you are following on your social media platforms then shows up in your Google search results.
Creating a Google+ profile is the same thing as publicly declaring that you are okay with the world knowing all of the information you’ve included in the profile.
The Good with the Bad -
Google social search can feel a bit scary in two ways.
First, if you are sharing content on your social media platforms that which you DON’T want the world to have access, you will want to stop.
Second, trying to conduct an un-biased search may now feel problematic. (A search where the results are not based on your social media friends.)
To remedy the first issue, you need to go into your social media platforms and take down any information you don’t want shared publicly. (I hope that at this point, you have already taken precautions strictly personal information on the web!) Or, at the very least, privatize the content that you don’t want shared publicly. Google only shares your PUBLIC content and posts.
To Remedy the second issue of an in-biased search, simply LOG-OUT of Google+ and your gmail account. If you are completely logged out of Google+ and your gmail account, “social search” will NOT be apart of your search results. You can then conduct an un-biased search.
However, Google social search is not all bad. In fact, if you are an entrepreneur, it can be an amazing tool.
Courtesy kimgarst.com
