Google is giving Google+ users two enhanced ways to find information disseminating across the social network, with real-time search and hashtags.
"Now when you search in Google+, you'll see a message about new posts the instant they're available," Vic Gundotra, Google's SVP of social, explained in a post on Google+ Wednesday. "If you click on this message, or select 'Most recent,' then relevant posts will start appearing in real-time."
Also, should you opt to put a hashtag in any of your Google+ updates, that hashtag will automatically link to search results for the term.
The improvements will come as welcome additions for Google+ power users, journalists and media types interested in keeping up with breaking news on Google+. The search updates may do little to convince more casual social networkers to stick around on the social site or give it second chance.
They have some long-term significance, however. We expect this technology to become the foundation for a revamped real-time search experience on Google.com itself.