Huh? Google to Let Users Comment on Searches in Real Time

Google announced last month that they were shutting down Google+ due to a data privacy flaw.  Does this mean that they are no longer interested in social media?  Unlikely.  There appears to be a new feature to test support for comments on search results. There is a glaring issue isn’t there?  I mean, with everything going on related to possible election interference, why do we want to give people the ability to comment on things in a way that could spread misinformation.  That said, this feature would be limited to live sports matches, for now.  It would also separate feedback from professional commentators and viewers and would include filters to highlight the top comments.  It’s believed that there would be some kind of moderation in order to cut down on abuse.

But more recently, Google Maps has added the ability to follow stores and direct message with those businesses.  So is this the next logical step? This feature was uncovered during our teardown of Google app 8.55 on Android. For the past several versions, the company has been working on a “Your contributions” section. As of the latest Google app beta, the URL for the feature is finally active revealing a simple page noting your Reviews and Comments.

The Google Maps feature has been available for a few months now, with users being able to write reviews for movies, TV shows, books and more when heading to a Knowledge Panel for a piece of media and then the “Reviews” tab.  However, the feature to be able to leave a comment is new.  An official support page titled “Leave comments on Google Search” confirms and details the functionality. At the moment, comments are currently limited and optimized for live sports game.

Is this ok, though?  I mean, with everything going on in the “social” sphere, should we have one more way to give information?  More specifically, I’m talking about things like Twitter Trolls, or Facebook hacks.  I’m not saying that this will be bad, but I guess I’m wondering if it’s the right time for another way to give feedback?

Supported Knowledge Panels on both the web and the Google app will likely feature a new “Comments” section where you can “Add a public comment.” This feature will be separated by regular “Viewers” and sport “Commentators,” with a filter to refine by either, as well as by “All comments” or “Top comments.” Meanwhile, there is a like/dislike capability and reporting malicious messages, with Google also taking steps to screen comments. Google, however, doesn’t want your views to be anonymous, so that isn’t an option.

The comments section doesn’t appear to be live yet for all sports, but that could be because there are no live games to check on at the moment.  The domain for Comments is currently limited to sports, and somewhat makes sense given how Google Search is frequently used to find live match results and has added features like floating sports scores this year.  Will this expand?