The New Math of Blogging

Anyone notice that Blogger added the new Google +1 button to your blog options?  If you were already using the share icons in your Blogger blog, it should have automatically appeared the other day, sorta like this:

Wednesday Nibbles are like a +1,000

So what is +1?  Basically it's just another way to share stuff, except your doing the sharing within the context of Google's search results.  Think of it similarly to clicking "Like" on Facebook.  All your friends can see what you "like," so it's kinda your stamp of approval. (While at the same time serving as Google's attempt to interfere with Facebook's ever-growing social domination of the web).

Well +1 generally works the same way...if you've got a Google profile (& if you're on Blogger you do...or if you have a Gmail account...or one of Google's other myriad of services) when friends of yours search for stuff on Google, if the results generate something relevant to something you had +1'd, your endorsement should also show up next to the result, telling them, "hey, so and so thinks this is rad."

Get it?  Not quite?  Check out this video from Google that explains it a bit better.  There's an official blog post too.




Does this mean you should go out clicking +1s on everyone's blogs? I dunno. But if you want to start with the one on the post below, feel free. At least until Google develops a -1 button where you can show how you really feel...