If you're one of those people who just can't get enough of hash-tagging, then it's your lucky time of the year. Just when we tho...
If you're one of those people who just can't get enough of hash-tagging, then it's your lucky time of the year. Just when we thought that the hashtags had hit their high note when Facebook decided to entertain them, Google suddenly jumps in and manages to take the concept to a whole new level (in theory at least, if not in practice - yet). Google has announced that Google Search will now be indexing hashtag search terms, and for the time being, it will be only pulling results from the company's own social network, Google Plus.
The concept, originally coined by Twitter, has been adopted by various other social networking sites like Google Plus, Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook. But each has met with varying degrees of success. Twitter, as you can imagine, has managed to do things correctly, whereas Facebook hasn't been so lucky. A recent study by Facebook Analytics company, EdgeRank Checker, shows that Facebook hasn't had much of a success with hashtags. As a matter of fact, none.
This goes on to show that not everyone likes Hashtags. Some people obviously have a knack for squeezing in hashtags between their posts, whereas others are outright annoyed by them. But as it happens, despite Facebook's lack of success with hashtags, Google has ensured that they will be around for long - much long. So if you don't like hashtags, well then better get used to them.
Hashtags for Google Search
The idea is to integrate Hashtag search into Google Search, so that people looking on social networks for trends can get a better picture on the search giant. Right now, it will only pull and index search terms from Google Plus, and we can't say whether support for other social media will be added later, because so many factors are involved.
Presently, the hashtag search capability is only limited to the U.S and Canada. But with the use of a Virtual Private Network (VPN) software such as Spotflux, you can see this feature in operation. Simply enter a hashtag into the search bar, and along with the normal search results, you will see a sidebar on the left, where you can see the discussions (if any) on Google Plus for that particular topic.
Pretty cool, right? Google has once again made an attempt to sway users away from Zuckerberg and Twitter. The feature fits nicely into Google Search, and not only does it give the Search an upper hand, it also gives a boost to its social network Google Plus. And since the search real-estate (i.e. the space used for displaying search results) has now expanded, featuring more content per search result page, it's an opportunity for brands to get their content listed on the search engine.
But whether users actually leave Facebook for this or not, only time can decide. We don't reckon other social networking sites would be interested in loaning their hashtag search data to Google. So don't expect Google to integrate other networks in this hashtag search anytime soon.
Do you like hashtags? Would you now prefer Google Plus over Facebook? Leave your questions and opinions in the comments section below. Cheers :)
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