Social media has become a fixture in everyday life all across the globe.  Google is not only the most recognizable and visited site on the web, but it is also one of the most valuable companies in the world today ( 2^nd only to Apple).  On paper, Google punching its way into the social media world seems like a match made in heaven.

Enter Google +.

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Just about three weeks ago I wrote an article on the difference between Facebook Like, Facebook Share and Facebook Fan.  I mean, I’m still crackin’ up over that funny baby picture, that’s how new it is!  But, as the Internet goes, everything from that post has changed.  Where there was once a big difference between Like and Share, Facebook’s latest announcement makes them almost one of the same.

It makes sense though, the Like button didn’t stand a chance next to the Share button.  The Share button is just more sociable and more clickable than the Like button ever was.

Okay, let’s reexamine this, shall we? And let’s use, yet another, awkward family photo:

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Our very own Becki Dilworth has been busy traveling the country with the Content Rules Tour and word is that she’s been asked quite a few times about the difference between Facebook Like, Share and Fan. Well, since she’s busy rubbing shoulders with Ann Handley and C.C. Chapman, I thought I’d help her out and try to explain the difference between these Facebook items.

One of my favorite websites is Awkward Family Photos, and today as I was cruising through their site, I found this cute baby picture that I wanted to share with my friends on Facebook. At the top of the page is the traditional ‘Like’ button, which I push and become #780 of the people that ‘Like’ this photo. Afterwards, I headed over to my Facebook page to see what this looks like on my profile…

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Google and Bing both openly stated that they look at how links are shared and distributed across Facebook and Twitter.  Meaning that they actually changed their algorithm to see how much you and the rest of the world share things on these social media sites.  Why you ask?  Because, if the search engines are able to mimic this human behavior of sharing, than they’re going to be able to give all of us more relevant end results.  That’s right, they watch you and what you like and give websites credit for the things you “like” and tweet.  That should be enough to make you believe that social media truly is important to your business.  Don’t get me wrong, you need strategy behind it before you dive in, but it’s definitely time to get started if you haven’t.

All right, I’m done with the motherly SEO speech.  Let’s look at the facts.

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Google has launched real-time search on their search engine result pages. In addition to typical search results, users now running a search will be exposed to real-time results from sources such as Twitter, Facebook, identi.ca, Jaiku, and MySpace. Some users already see this implemented, while most others will notice real-time results in the coming days, including mobile users!

The Inevitable is Available

Most people are saying this was an inevitable milestone. I agree. I just have a few questions and concerns.

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Summary Analysis for search on "Jay Cutler" using Social Mention

I like to think of myself as someone who is always up to speed with the latest and greatest technologies. If it’s new, I’m interested. If it’s cool, I have to have it. I’m an early adopter so to speak. With this in mind, it may come as a surprise that I was among the few to resist the call to Web 2.0. As communication became more casual, less formal, I understood each step along the way: bulletin boards (BBS for you old timers), chat rooms, forums, email, instant messaging and text messaging. I even understood blogging. Try as I might, I just couldn’t understand Web 2.0.

Limitations

Twitter posts are limited to 140 characters. Even text messages have a 160 character limit. I was being told I couldn’t do more with a QWERTY keyboard than I could with a standard phone dial pad! It was maddening!

Facebook was a completely different animal. Suddenly everyone had an account. 300+ million of them now. Friend requests were being made and it was a race to see who had more friends. What was the social etiquette for turning down unwanted friend requests? Is it OK to de-friend someone? Why am I getting all of these pointless comments?

Reality

I was looking at it all wrong. 300+ million. Think about that number for a minute. What I wasn’t seeing was right in front of me. Facebook, Twitter, and their counterparts had become a virtual water cooler. Friends were keeping up with each other from across the world in quick, easily digestible tidbits. And all of it is publicly available.

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