This week at the Google I/O conference, Google gave conference developers a preview of how the Google +1 button is going to work.
Demonstrating how the button can be added to existing websites and some of the statistics that it can track, it was also mentioned by Google’s Timothy Jordan that all this would be available to developers “in a matter of weeks.”
The +1 button design and how it works will be similar to those used by Facebook and Twitter, so developers should find it easy to implement the new social button on their websites.
Generating the Button Code
Developers will have access to a new code generation form allowing various button formats and options to be set such as size and whether or not to include a counter.
There are multiple sizes and configurations of the button available which should suit the majority of websites and will allow it to fit in nicely with buttons from the other social network sites.
Included in the JavaScript code is a callback function that developers can use to call post-click actions and track custom statistics in Google Analytics.
In the demonstration, Google gave examples of using the call-back function to create and track content that has been “+1’d” as Google is now calling it.
Your +1’d Content Privacy
Anonymous statistics for a site will only be published after a certain threshold of +1’d content has been met.
Implementing such a threshold prevents site owners from guessing who has +1’d content if there have only been a two or three clicks, although Google has not yet confirmed what the threshold limit will be.
Tracking Your +1’d Content
In a break from the tradition of using Google Analytics for the primary tracking resource, site owners will be able to track their +1’d directly through Google Webmaster Central.
So if you haven’t yet done so, now is a good time to register your site there in preparation for the button’s release in a few weeks.
Release Date Notification
If you’re planning to be in the first batch of websites that implement the new Google +1 button, you can be informed of its release here.
