It’s not often we see Google leak a new product or service, but the latest ‘Dear Sophie’ Gmail advertisement did just that.
If you watch it closely, you’ll find the Chrome browser in use reveals an unreleased product: a Google +1 extension. The best view of it is found at the 0:51 mark, front and center, next to the Picasa icon being clicked on.
There’s quite a bit of speculation and rumors circulating as to what exactly the Google +1 button will do. Last month, Google unveiled a service titled +1, which was designed to add a +1 button to every search result. When pressed, the targeted result would be shared with your social circle instantaneously.
Google has also said that a +1 button is coming for publisher websites. Interestingly, we haven’t heard any more on that since the original announcement.
It’s possible that the Chrome browser extension has a certain level of social functionality, such as ways to share links on Twitter, Facebook and other networks. Of course, having this feature plus the +1 button next to every search result seems redundant.
This new +1 business calls into question the idea of constantly having connectivity to the social networking world. There’s certainly nothing wrong with having easy access to Twitter and Tumblr and other popular sites, but having multiple ways of sharing one link may not be necessary or useful for most users.
However, a +1 Chrome extension is clearly coming to Google’s trademark browser, and we know thanks to a Gmail/Chrome commercial set to air on national television.
Looking for more Google software news? You’ll have to check out Google Toolbar 7 and Google Docs Android App
via TechCrunch
