Aussie politicians to get prominent position in Google search results
If you search for the Australian Liberal Party on Google Monday, the results may look a little different.
Google has launched its experimental Google Posts feature in Australia, a company spokesperson confirmed to Mashable Australia. The platform, which feels something like a one-way social media platform, allows select people and organisations to add blog posts or video directly to the top of their search results, and the conservative party is one of the first to get started.
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The product, which was first offered to presidential candidates during the current U.S. election, has now been made available to a wide number of registered Australian politicians, Fairfax Media reported.
Prime ministerial candidates Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten had not begun posting at time of writing, however.
When using the feature, politicians get a blue tick next to their name to indicate they've been verified by Google. Their posts can then be shared via Twitter, Facebook and email, or if you're feeling lucky, Google+.
It's a chance for politicians to pick and choose the first content curious Australians see when searching online. During the U.S. presidential debates, for example, Google claimed on its blog the feature would help even "the playing field."
"By publishing long-form text, photos and videos throughout the debate, campaigns can now give extended responses, answer questions they didn’t get a chance to on stage, and rebut their opponents," it wrote.
It was also switched on during the ICC World Twenty20 in March, when prominent cricketers were able to add their own commentary and video into search results for their name.
Anyone can sign up for the Google Posts waitlist, but for the moment, it looks like us mere mortals will continue having to suffer through whatever Google search delivers for our name.
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Ariel Bogle was an associate editor with Mashable in Australia covering technology. Previously, Ariel was associate editor at Future Tense in Washington DC, an editorial initiative between Slate and New America.
