You might have heard that Google is your friend. Doesn't matter what you're about to ask from your colleague, a friend or a family member - you just might want to consider to Google it first.
Whereas Google has paved the way in the search engine universe, it has also improved its services by adding an option of social search. It was first announced in October 2009 and has been talked about quite a lot since then. The bottom line is that if you really want to know what is talked about out there about you, any product, company or just about anything else, you just might want to check it out.
So what is Google social search?
It is an alternative search option at Google that displays only results from social media channels - blogs, forums, social networks etc. The good thing about it is that you can choose also what kind of channels you would like to search from and additionally you can define the time period you want the search results appear from. So you can define your search as you want it and get results that you need.
Also check out this video by Google on how the search really works:
Why is it good for you?
1) People talk about different things out there all the time, but it doesn't necessarily appear on Google search. If you're looking for information about some product, for example, then besides just Googling it you can also search it via social search and see if someone has mentioned the product in a blog post or a forum. For example, check out what you can find out about Moogo when searching for blog posts within the past one week with the keyword "Moogo".
2) If you have a company your own, you probably want to know what people are talking about your product. This is the best way to find real time conversations on Internet. And it makes it really easy for you to join the conversation when needed.
3) Want to know more about a person you're about to meet at a job interview, partner meeting or anywhere else? Social search gives a pretty good idea about any person - what (s)he's talking about and who (s)he's communicating with. Also search your own name and see what people will find out about you - might be good to know!
Where can you find it from?
For users who search in English it should be available with every normal Google search. Just expand the link "Show Options" under the Google search tab and you can choose different social media channels and a time period for your social search. That's how simple it is.
If for some reason you can't fint it from your Google search engine then check out Google Experiment pages and you will find it from there. Or, well... just Google it.
There have been several other social search option on the web, so why is Google social search any better?
Well, Google social search is where you already are - with your friend Google. As already said before, it's a great addition to the search engine service that you can use in matter of seconds. So why not to try it out? Have you used Google social search? How do you use it? Let us know in the comments!
