Using Google Social Search

To test the Social Search system, I tried searching for the term "Apple." Google's first social result was a satirical story -- "" -- pulled from my Google Reader RSS subscriptions.

Below that were links to blogs a couple of my colleagues had posted regarding Apple; Google cross-referenced them from e-mail addresses in my Gmail contacts list and uncovered their stories. There was even an Apple-related tweet sent by one of my Twitter friends -- PC World's -- grouped together with an Apple tip he had posted on his personal site and an option to see more of his related content.

Understanding Google Social Search

So where's Google getting all this information? The answer, not surprisingly, is through Google. The main venue for culling your social content is your . It's an about yourself that allows you to add links to your various online profiles: your Twitter stream, personal blog, FriendFeed page, you name it.