14 DAY TRIAL // Google is quietly working away at its upcoming social web products. The very first one to surface was the new +1 button which is now an optional feature for Google Search users.
But it's just the tip of the iceberg, +1 buttons for website are coming soon, but there are some signs that Google is working on a more focused social web experience, unsurprisingly, grouped around Google Profiles.
One thing that Google may be working on, or is already experimenting with, are business profiles. Aside from a broken link found in the Google Profiles page points to google.com/_/managepages and is titled "Business Profiles," there's not much more to go on, but what is there is pretty unambiguous.
Google is planning on expanding its Google Profiles feature into the enterprise area, or at least was or is experimenting with the idea.
It does make sense too, a Business Profile page would go head to head with Facebook Pages, to some degree, but it would also fit in rather nicely with Google's existing products for small businesses, Place Pages and so on.
A business directory of sorts is not exactly a hugely original idea, but Google's size and integration with other tools could prove a boon.
Google is working on quite a lot of products for small businesses, in advertising and location, and a Business Profile fills several hot areas, the social web, local and location-based information and so on.
Another puzzle piece in Google's social web efforts is a new URL, plusone.google.com which now just redirects to Google Profiles. Since there's already a page describing the +1 button and how it works, the new URL could be used for something else, perhaps to better manage the tool once more features are added.