Google have updated their search algorithm to make more use of the data being gathered in Google+.  Content made available publicly by those in your circles on Google+ will now start appearing in your search results with Google.  Google also takes the information you choose to provide in a Google profile.  So if you have listed your Twitter account on your Google profile then your search results will start to show publicly available information from them AND also the people they follow on Twitter.  Your social circle is also built using Google chat and Google reader information but crucially NOT Facebook which as the biggest (by far) social hub on the internet inevitably decreases the value of Google’s social search results.  Crucially the social search results will show towards the bottom of searches and will only show if you are signed into Google at the time of searching.  Matt Cutts explains the changes here:

Not everyone thinks this update by Google is a good idea.  Twitter called it “bad for people” for example and there has been other negative press.  A search for a restaurant in Milton Keynes for example may turn up relevant results from your social circle which you may regard as more trustworthy than a review website.  On the other hand a search for MK Dons may show your friends opinions on the latest match ahead of their Twitter account information which was what you may have been looking for.

My main concern is that the information I am looking for may be further buried beneath useless opinion and general noise from friends.  If I wanted that I can search for it directly from my Google+ account.

Do you think this is a good update or not?  Is Bing now the best search engine? Let us know in the comments.