Last week, Google submitted a patent for a new social sharing feature. The new feature will allow users to share web content on social networking sites, such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. In many ways, the feature is similar to what Facebook recently rolled out with Open Graph. Could this be Google’s new way to mine data? Is it part of their ongoing effort to page rank through social media signals?
Propagating Promotional Information on a Social Network
Invented by:
Vinay Goel, Rahul Kulkarni, Subramanya Srikanth Belwadi, Siddartha Naidu, and Ramanathan V. Guha
Assigned to Google Inc.
US Patent Application 20100332330
Published December 30, 2010
Filed: June 30, 2009
Abstract
In one implementation, a method for providing information to computer users includes receiving at a server system an indicator of an action performed on a third-party website by a first user of a social network of users. The method can also include creating by the server system first promotional information based upon the received indicator and information associated with the first user of the social network.
The method can further include persistently storing by the server system the created first promotional information in a repository of promotional information, wherein the repository stores promotional information associated with a plurality of third-party websites for display to users of a plurality of social networks.
The method can additionally include receiving at the server system a request for promotional information to display to a second user of the social network, the second user having an acquaintance relationship with the first user.
In general, Google’s share button works similar to Facebook’s. E-commerce sites will be able to add this feature to their product pages, which will allow users to share/promote content through third party social networks.
What will be displayed includes product description, image, pricing, promotions, name of user who purchased, and a link to the website.
While product sharing is at the core of Google’s sharing feature, other content that could be shared include news, public announcements, videos, or site recommendations.
Word of Mouth
Google’s new feature will greatly help e-commerce businesses that depend on “word of mouth.” Google believes this feature will also create a new path for social sharing revenue. Users that share content via third party social networks could be offered incentives to promote information. For example, a user may receive a portion of revenue from sales generated through social network sharing. Social networks may also receive a share of revenue generated from content sharing. Flash sale retailers practice this model through providing customers with special credits from sales converted through exclusive member invites. Many of these retailers have experienced a surge in revenue through viral sharing on the internet and through social networks.
For e-commerce marketers, this provides a new opportunity for generating revenue. It will provide direct revenue based on the results of sale conversion from content sharing via social networks. Directly tracking sale conversion from content share will help marketers gauge the effectiveness of social media campaigns.
Page Ranking
Where will Google take this? We’ll have to see. It may be that this is another way for Google to mine data from the web. By adding their version of the “like” button on every web page, Google will have greater insight into what is truly popular or “social.” As reported earlier, page ranking based on social media signals is an area Google is looking more into. By tracking the amount of content being shared, Google can provide a deeper and more organic page rank system.
Written By Daniel T
