Google has launched a feature in Google Product Search for users to find merchants who have store locations. This means that people searching with Google Product Search will be able to get more information about the nearest store locations for a particular merchant.
YouTube Readies Friend-Finder Feature
It looks like Conan O’Brien’s imaginary YouTwitFace site is coming one step closer to reality. Last night, YouTube announced that it’s introducing a new "You may know these people" feature, which of course sounds quite similar to Facebook’s "People you may know" offering.
Bing Readies Sharing Feature for Search Results
Microsoft is working on a new feature for Bing called "Bing and Ping." This is a means to share your search results with friends. Bing’s "decision engine" nature provides plenty of content that users may actually want to share. Nicholas Kerr of the Bing Team explains:
Twitter Finally Giving Users Retweet Feature
Twitter announced that it intends to add a retweet option to its service as well as the API. Retweeting has basically become a huge part of the Twitter culture, but it is not a function that is readily available on Twitter itself.
Users have to actually take the time and to enter the information themselves. Co-founder Biz Stone acknowledges that this can be "cumbersome". Twitter is calling the initiative "project retweet." Stone explains on the Twitter Blog:
More Feature Interaction Within Facebook Apps
Last week, Facebook announced an update to the Open Stream API, which allows integration of Page streams with applications. Now, Facebook has opened up the new Mailbox and Notification APIs, which allow developers to provide users with more ways to interact with core Facebook features within their apps.
Multiple Search Feature Comes to Google Maps
Google has added a new feature to Google Maps, which allows you to perform multiple searches, while keeping them around for future reference. It’s hard to explain without an example.
On the Google Lat Long Blog, to illustrate the feature, they give the example of a search for the Road to Hana on Maui. They search for this, but also search separately for supermarkets, gas stations, and driving directions to Hana, HI.
New Google Apps Feature Breaks Microsoft Outlook
Suppose, for Father’s Day, you got dear old Dad some new power tools, and he then had trouble adjusting to them. One way of speeding up the acclimation process could involve trashing the old ones, right? Now, Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Outlook seems to have created a similar situation.
New Google Reader Feature Spotlights Chatty Cathys
Here are a few simple facts: some people talk more than others. Also, some people are more interesting than others. And a new Google Reader feature called "Friends trends" may help you determine how the folks you interact with online score in both of these categories.
Google Adds Advanced Statistics Search Feature
Statistics junkies may soon have to guard themselves against Google addiction. The search giant announced a new search feature this afternoon, and said feature looks set to find and present public data with rather remarkable ease.
Hulu Improves Search Feature
Hulu announced some improvements to its search functionality today. For one, they have added some shortcuts to the autocomplete feature.
Previously, the autocomplete suggestions would just take a user to the regular search results, but now, the shortcuts offer other options like going straight to the latest episode (for current shows), or the show page (for all shows).