Google Unveils Its Version of Facebook's Like Button

Look out "Like" button, here comes Google's "+1." The company unveiled a new gizmo today—the "plus one" button—that mimics the general idea of Facebook's popular feature. The idea is that you'll be able to click on the button to designate things you like, and people in your Google "social circle" (think Gmail and "My Contacts" lists) can see it. For now, it's being rolled out in experimental form only on search results, allowing people to "+1" any results or ads they like. Not everyone can see the button at the moment, but if you'd like to join the experiment, go here.

In a few months, the button should be showing up on web sites, reports Danny Sullivan at Search Engine Land. (He also has an in-depth walk-through of the new feature.) "It’s pretty clear that Google wants to become a whole lot more social and in order to get there, they’re going to take a page directly out of Facebook’s playbook," writes Nick O'Neill at All Facebook.The company announcement is here. (More Google stories.)