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Google Gets Personal with Search Plus Your World

Google has revolutionized its search results, with the new “Search Plus Your World” format. Starting today a “Personal Results” view appears showing results based on the user’s behavior and social connections.

Private, Public & Social

After searching, a message may appear such as “50 personal results and 419,000 other results”. Some of those 50 results will be blended into the first page of results.

The biggest change is that previously hidden private or “limited” Google+ posts, photos or Google Picasa photos will be shared with the user.

Those with Google+ accounts are now more heavily highlighted in search results. If a user searched for a common name, a friend’s Google+ profile is shown, rather than someone else.

If users don’t like the personalized search they can opt-out permanently, or on a per-search basis through the search settings area on Google.

No Content From Facebook, Twitter

Search Plus Your World doesn’t cover content on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, or any social network. Currently, “Search Plus Your World” only has access to personal Google+ content.

Facebook has not spent much time refining its own search results. The company has repeatedly said that most of the Facebook-based searches are to find people, not to find information about broad topics like Google.

Security

Google started secure search for signed-in users in October most likely to prepare security for Search Plus Your World. Mixing private content in with Google’s search results means anyone searching without a secure connection potentially exposes private content.

Secure search provides an encryption so that any private material mixed in with regular results is protected and seen only by the user’s browser and Google.