14 DAY TRIAL // Google is testing Twitter integration with News. Some visitors are asked to share their Twitter username and are then served news that their Twitter friends have shared. The feature appears to be part of Google's plan to add a social layer to all of its properties.
Some users, as Search Engine Land reports, are seeing a "Friends" box. They can enter their Twitter ID and will then see news stories shared by their friends in the dedicated section on Google News.
"Friends is an experimental section in the side column that helps you find news articles that your friends are sharing on Twitter," the Google help page for the experiment reads.
"In the open text box, enter your Twitter username and click "Save." Google News will refresh, and you will see a list of updates containing news articles shared by the people you follow," it adds.
Interestingly, not all the links your friends have tweeted are shown, rather just links to stories which have already been indexed by Google News and are available on the site.
"Please note that Friends only shows you articles that can be found in Google News. If someone you follow has shared an article or a link that cannot be found in Google News, then you will not see that update in the Friends section," Google explains.
The feature adds an interesting dynamic to the site. While many are flocking to Twitter to get their news, Google's dedicated site has a following. And by only showing the links that are already in Google News, you get the added benefit of another layer of curation.
Because the links are shared by the people you follow, it already implies a level of trust. But not all links on Twitter may be of interest to you and not all may be to news stories. If you're looking for a way to filter what your news stories your friends are following, the new Twitter integration seems like a good way.