Mfarhanonline Social Media News: When a massive vehicle bomb went off Friday in Oslo, Norway , it was easier at first to find news about it on Google+ than Google itself. The search giant may have lost the relationship with Twitter that enabled its realtime search , but it has created a tool that can potentially compete with Twitter’s instant information fire hose. Like Twitter, one advantage that Google+ has in breaking news situations is the ability to easily create a feed around any topic. On Twitter, this feed is called a list. On Google+, circles can be used the same way. Google+ user Siegfried Hirsch , for instance, has already suggested a list of Google+ users for following the Oslo bombing that includes reporters and residents of Oslo. The latter group used Google+ to react to the bombing and post updates , similar to how many have used Twitter or Facebook in the past. Google+ as a breaking news tool is far from perfect. Ironically, its biggest problem is search. Profiles include a “people search” but no topic search. The platform does have a content recommendation and discovery platform, Sparks, but its results for “Oslo bomb” look sparse compared to the results that a query for “Oslo site:plus.google.com” turns up on Google’s general search engine. There’s also no way to easily pass on circles to other people. So while assembling a dedicated newsfeed is easy, sharing it requires that someone else visit each profile on the list and add it manually. Despite its flaws, Google+ seems to be holding its own as a tool for breaking news, especially for a platform that is still invite only. We don’t know what tweaks to the platform are in the pipeline, but if they’re the right ones, there’s a chance that Google won’t miss its Twitter-enabled real-time search as much as we thought. ! Image co urtesy of Twitpic, Geir-Olav Goksoyr More About: Google , Google Plus , oslo , twitter For more Social Media coverage: Follow Mfarhanonline Social Media on Twitter Become a Fan on Facebook Subscribe to the Social Media channel Download our free apps for Android , Mac , iPhone and iPad Social Media reviews series maintain by Mayya
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