Google+ Now Has Trending Topics
Google+ Trending Topics - Google is getting serious to beat Facebook at social networking world. Google silently added a trending topics feature to Google+ last evening which now turns up whenever you try a search on the social network. The brand new “Trends” feature shows up on the right-hand side of the page, and presently lists the very best 10 items under heavy discussion like “Natalie Wood” and “Breaking Dawn,” for instance.
The feature was initially spotted by Richard Lusk who published a screenshot to Google+ and tweeted concerning the update. Because the feature only shows up after you try a search, Lusk and others are recommending that “Trends” should appear next to the homepage’s main stream, in which the feature would be more apparent. That’s most likely not a bad idea, but for the time being that space is used to prompt users to add more friends via “Suggestions” and “Send Invitations.” Since Google+ continues to be attempting to grow its users list, it may not be ready to quit that key spot just yet.
Image Credit: Richard Lusk
What’s more interesting relating to this development is its possibility of future integration into Google Search. At the beginning of this month, the firm introduced a big change to its algorithm (the “freshness” update) which influenced 35% of searches. The update’s goal ended up being to better highlight more current content, including such things as recent events, hot topics, reviews and breaking news. The elevated concentrate on newer content appeared to almost forgo the requirement for a particular “real-time” search vertical, such as the one that Google shuttered back in July when its contract with Twitter expired. At that time, the firm stated it might re-open Google.com/realtime with Google+ search results later on. The development of Google+ Trends could definitely be the initial step towards that.
