Demo of Google’s Social Search Project- A Way to Improve the Google Search Engine
Over time, social media has grown in popularity and to this day, has become one of the most popular forms of communication available. With social media user numbers increasing on Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Twitter and many other web-sites, Google Labs recently announced plans for its Social Search Project as a way to research how social networks can improve someone’s search engine experience.
Set to launch over the next few weeks, the Google Social Search Project will allow users to find both relevant web-sites and content from their social media all on the same Search Engine Results Page (SERP). To utilize this service, current users will have to be logged into Google or have to create a Google profile. During the creation of the profile, users will need to list their social networks in order for social media content to show up in the SERPs. Google can also use this information to determine who users are connected to and through which network. Users who wish not to participate in the experiment and the research can simply turn off the feature in their Google profile settings.
During this experiment, research on how social media impacts purchasing decisions will be conducted as well. During a search for a particular product, users can find blogs, tweets, Facebook posts and other social media tools to find out what people in their networks are saying about a particular product. For example, anyone searching for a new laptop for their home or office will be able to see what their friends are saying about laptops in their blogs, Facebook posts and other social media outlets.
Image search optimization is also looking to be improved through this project. The Google Social Search Project will also allow photos from social networks to be displayed during searches.
