There are two new buttons available this week, well technically one new and available now and one evolved and still in the off-ing unless you're in the US...
- Google +1 is now launched for websites and we'll see it rolling out globally with several early US partners. We covered Google's +1 in a Google round-up several weeks ago, it's essentially a "Like" button for search results and now websites. The launch on 30 March 2011 was about the button appearing next to Google's search results and adverts only, this new feature takes the +1 as a button that can be embedded on your own web site, the same as a Facebook Like. Clicking on any +1 button will allow users’ friends to see what they liked and also add the +1 to anonymised public data. Of course the data (all public) gleaned from social search and +1 will provide Google with a significant amount of information on the quality of websites and search results from the users perspective - all good stuff. +1 is currently only in the USA, but it's headed here soon. Given that this can alter the way Google Search results are served up, this is potentially a big deal.
- Twitter's new Follow button is now also adding to the button war. Yesterday Twitter announced that the button was immediately available. It doesn't do anything necessarily new as such, however it does let businesses and organisations tell their web readers that they have a presence on Twitter, and it lets the users can follow that account in a click or two and without ever going to Twitter's own site (you do have to be logged into Twitter for it to work). This is good news - it's important to get the social kudos without driving traffic away, shame it's taken Twitter so long. You can get cracking with this shiny new button here.