谷歌新版搜索引擎力推Google+

    本周二，谷歌（Google）无孔不入的搜索引擎再次推出升级版本，一举挺进旗下羽翼未丰的社交网站Google+，从这个社交平台的腹地搜索与特定用户相关的内容。经过这次改版，Google+中的个人信息、发帖和图片将会暴露给互联网上数以亿计的搜索引擎用户，无论他们是否已经开通了Google+帐号。当然，多数情况下，包括Facebook在内的其它网站信息，都被理所当然地远远排在了搜索结果的后面。谷歌的新动作必然进一步激化与Facebook之间的竞争。

    谷歌称，这是近年来最重大的变化之一。谷歌员工本•戈麦斯在接受采访时说：“这是自推出通用搜索（Universal Search）以来，我们在用户可见内容方面所进行的一次最大扩容。”谷歌于2007年推出通用搜索，将搜索结果中的图像、视频和其它内容一网打尽。

    举个例子，周二开始，用户在谷歌上搜索好友姓名时，排在最前面的搜索结果将是该好友在Google+上的个人信息。当然，他在Facebook或商务社交网站LinkedIn上的个人信息也会紧随其后。

    不难想象，谷歌的变化可能将再次激起人们对它的批评。人们一贯指责谷歌一直在推销其自有服务的内容，先是地图、评论、YouTube，现在轮到Google+了，他们都被排在竞争对手之前的优先位置。戈麦斯强调，谷歌只是想让搜索引擎发挥更大作用。他说：“谷歌的目标是根据用户的搜索请求，给出最具关联性的搜索结果。”

    谷歌的新功能被称为“搜索，加上你自己的世界”（search, plus your world）——搜索结果中还将显示个人内容，其中包括用户在Google+或图片分享功能Picasa中上传的内容，或是他们与其他人分享的内容。举例来说，如果用户搜索夏威夷，很可能看到自己网络相册里或是好友相册里存储的夏威夷旅行照片。用户还有可能看到好友们在Google+上分享的旅行攻略和热门推荐。

    现在，针对大众话题的一般搜索也会显示Google+上相关重要人物的个人信息和页面。如果搜索“音乐”，在搜索结果的右侧可能会显示布兰妮•斯皮尔斯或斯诺普•道格的个人信息。

    一直以来，这种形式的个性化搜索都被看作网页搜索的“终极追求”。Facebook正在与微软（Microsoft）展开合作，允许后者的搜索引擎必应（Bing）显示更多来自自己平台的个性化内容。同时，Facebook平台目前已和Yelp（点评网站）、Pandora（音乐网站）、Spotify（音乐网站）等众多互联网服务商达成协议，向用户显示与其Facebook好友相关的内容，以此提供更具个性化的服务。

    Facebook表示，不需要个性化内容的用户可以很方便地关闭这项功能。

    译者：项航

    In a move that is certain to sharpen its rivalry with Facebook, Google (GOOG) on Tuesday is introducing a revamped version of its ubiquitous search engine that will dive deeply into the company's fledgling social network, Google+, to find content that is relevant to a particular user. The change will expose Google+ profiles, as well as posts and photographs uploaded to the network, to hundreds of millions of search users whether or not they have Google+ accounts. In many cases, the changes will push content from other sites, including Facebook, further down on the search results pages.

    Google said the changes were among the most significant it had made in years. "This is the biggest expansion of the kind of content that user can see since Universal Search," Ben Gomes, a Google Fellow, said in an interview. Google introduced Universal Search, which began combining Web pages with images, videos and other types of content in search results, in 2007.

    Starting Tuesday, a search for the name of a friend, for example, will likely bring that person's Google+ profile as the top search result. As a result, their profiles on Facebook or LinkedIn will appear lower.

    The changes are likely to renew persistent criticism that Google promotes content from its own services, like maps, reviews, YouTube and, now, Google+ ahead of those of rivals. Gomes said that Google is simply trying to make its search engine more useful. "Our goal is to bring the user the most relevant data based on their query," he said.

    Under the changes -- dubbed "search, plus your world" -- Google will also include in search results private content that a user has uploaded or that someone has shared with them on Google+ or Picasa. For example, if you search for Hawaii, you are likely to see pictures of your trip to Hawaii from your own albums, or from a friend's album. You may also see travel tips and recommendations that your friends may have posted on Google+.

    Generic searches for broad topics will now also include profiles and pages from Google+ for people who are relevant and important to that topic. A search for "music" may suggest the profiles of Britney Spears or Snoop Dogg to the right of search results.

    This kind of personalization has long seen as a holy grail of Web search. Facebook has been working with Microsoft (MSFT) to allow that company's search engine, Bing, to surface more personalized content. And the Facebook platform has allowed countless services, like Yelp, Pandora (P) and Spotify, to become more personal by showing users content that is relevant to their Facebook friends.

    Users who do not want personalized content will be able to turn it off easily, the company said.