Google +1 sharing button now live

If you’ve been on YouTube (or some other sites) today and noticed the addition of a new “+1″ button don’t fret – nothing’s wrong with your computer. It’s just the inclusion of the new Google +1 button that’s been popping up all over the internet. Remember when we covered Google’s plans to implement recommendations from your social network in your search results? Well, that’s what the +1 button is for.

Similar to the “Like” button for Facebook, when you click the +1 button for a search result or a website, it will show you results that people in your social network have “+1′d”. As we all know, we’re more likely to trust something that’s been recommended by a friend, and that is the whole aim of the +1 feature. Of course you’ll need a Google profile to make use of it (so do your friends), so if the +1 button catches on, you can expect a lot more reliable search results – which then again depends on how your friends rate the quality of a link.