DEAR MISS GOOGLE: When I searched for something using your service, I found a friend had +1′d one of the of listings. What should one do in this case? GENTLE SEARCHER: It’s always polite in these situations to thank your kind friend. In fact, I’ve added a new “Thank” feature allowing you to do exactly this, though Google+.
Yes, a new Google+ feature has been spotted in the wild that further blends organic results with social information. Early today State of Search and charliesaidthat noticed a thank you link on an organic listing next to the Google+ users who +1′d a result.
When logged in as a Google+ user, various editors here could see this functionality appearing sporadically on a range of search terms. In order for the “Thank” link to show, the link in the results had to be +1′d from a circled user. This functionality is currently only showing intermittently at the moment. A Google rep did not comment further on this feature when asked for more information.
If a searcher did choose to thank someone for the +1, they were prompted to thank directly on Google+. The message automatically contains the original +1er on the post:
This limited visibility post is shown directly on the wall of the user who is doing the thanking. If you are looking to keep your appreciation of the +1 private, just make sure you don’t add in any other circles to the message:
Bas van den Beld performed a search related to the specific thank you post and found that some users were downright purplexed about the new communication:
So don’t be surprised next time you’re thanked for a +1 on your wall. We will continue to follow up on this feature and any official announcements.
Postscript: Google sent us the following statement:
Just like you would thank a friend in person for giving you a helpful recommendation, now if a friend’s +1 helped you find what you were looking for while searching on Google, you can immediately thank him or her by clicking the “Thanks” link right in your search results and writing a quick message. When your friend signs in to Google+, your thanks will appear in his or her stream. We’re continuing to try out new ways you can interact with the people you care about right on the results page.
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