5 Reasons Why I Thought Googles’ +1 Button Was A Joke

On March, 28th Google introduced Google +1 (pronounced “Plus One”)—a similar feature like the Facebook Like Button.

First thing that jumped to my mind was: “Is this a joke?”. Well, although I was wrong at the moment, I had my reasons to suspect that it was an early #aprilfools joke.

And I was not alone, other Twitter users were questioning the same, like @Thos003, @etAlly, @AlexSchleber and others.

1. The announcement date

April Fools jokes getting bigger and more crazy every year, announcing a joke a few days ahead would definitely increase the success-rate of falling for it.

2. The name

Seriously, “+1″? How’s that for a name. You can’t even search Google for +1!

3. +1 for Adwords

What? We can +1 an ad? Yes, you can recommend the [insert negative adjective] things on the right side of you search results.

4. +1′d to what social network?

When you “like” a website with the Facebook Like Button, you know to whom you’re recommending it. But to whom are you recommending a +1′d website?

When you enable +1, your social network will be made up of:

• People in your Gmail & Google Talk chat list
• People in your “My Contacts” group in Google Contacts
• People you follow in Google Reader or Google Buzz

Well I don’t know about you, but my Gmail contacts are filled with clients and organisations that I emailed in the past. I certainly hope that my search results will won’t be filled with recommendations from my telecom provider, local garage shop, or [insert organisation you emailed in the last 12 months].

5. Notify about +1 your website

How do you “plant” a joke? You announce a new service and create a simple ‘notify me’ form. Then, when the joke is uncovered, you send a nice email to the subscribers informing them about the joke.

Not a joke

Now we know it was not a joke, but it is for real. The +1 button is coming. Google is starting to show the button to a small percentage in the United States and expanding it from there. If you can’t wait you can visit Google Experimental and join in early.

Want to read more about the new +1 button? Here are some interesting resources.

• Meet +1: Google’s Answer To The Facebook Like Button on Search Engine Land
• With +1, Google Search Goes Truly Social — As Do Google Ads on TechCrunch
• Introducing the +1 button on Google Webmaster Central Blog