Social networking has proven to be a valuable tool for sharing information, but what about accessing it? Whether you realize it or not your network of social media connections gives you access to an extended social circle. Why not leverage these connections for information?

Google recently launched a social search feature in Google Labs that will display publically available web content found in your social circle that is relevant to your search.

How is your social circle defined?

Your social circle includes any of your Gchat buddies, Gmail contacts and any other social networking connections like Facebook, Twitter, etc, which Google asks you to associate in your Google Profile. Once your profile is updated, social media content can be displayed in the SERP.

For example, if you are interested in traveling to Aruba and you type it in as a search term, the social search tool may display pictures of Aruba pulled from your friend’s Facebook page. The social search results are displayed at the bottom of the page and could also include blogs, Twitter status updates and more.

The Future of Search

If your search is more personalized, more pertinent information will surface. It will be interesting to see how the current state of search transforms in the future.

With Bing constantly challenging Google in every way, including their recent relationship with Twitter, we are sure to see emerging features in the near future.  Stay tuned.