Google Launches Toolbar Update

[thejenn]

Authored by: Jennifer Laycock

Full Text: http://www.searchengineguide.com/laycock/006665.html

A Snippet:

The Google Toolbar is testing some new toys. In a beta launch available only to IE users, Google is offering several new features aimed at making the Google toolbar a more personal and more powerful browsing companion. From the addition of quick launch buttons to Google based bookmarking to closer integration with Gmail and Blogger, the toolbar upgrades look promising.

[Old Welsh Guy]

Personally I luvs the GTB The search suggestion drop down is fantastic.

[codeplacidly]

The ability to highlight and send to Blogger will be a feature that many bloggers will find handy.

I'm guessing that this is similar to the PressIt option I have with wordpress, in which case woohoo! Lots more short blog postings ranting about various news articles

Seriously though, I'm wondering how an increased personalisation of the google browsing experience fits with what I perceive to be an increased level of wariness on the part of webusers to do with the amount of data held by search engines and other portal software about the webusers and their behaviour? Is google overreaching here?

Or is that wariness not apparent in the USA? I'm hearing it a lot from ppl here in the UK atm.

Jax

[thejenn]

I think we're hearing a bit more about the whole search engines having too much info stuff right now in light of the U.S. government trying to get data from Google, but for the most part, I think it's temporary hype.

I think part of the reason that we don't hear so much about it though is that most searchers have no idea that search engines can tie their personal computer to a search. A survey that came out just last week said that something like 70% of Internet users had no idea that search engines could track them by their IP address. (Millions of people that search for porn had simultaneous heart attacks, I'm sure...)

Doesn't so much bother me that Google has "access" to what I want to blog about....here's why. The programs integrate with their own offerings...Blogger and Gmail. If I'm using either of those programs to blog or cover my email, then Google already has access to what I'm writing about. How will the toolbar give them any me data? It just gives me easier use of the programs that I'm already using.

[irnis]

Yes, the custom buttons is great and long awaited feature. Now I can access to my favorite web-services directly from toolbar.

Especially to Yahoo! Site Explorer from Google Toolbar - sound unbelievable, or not?

Just another two buttons for Yahoo! and Furl.Net.