Due to the increasing popularity of Facebook, other websites like Google are adding Facebook-inspired features.  Google’s new “like” system, called Google +1, allows users to mark their favorite pages.

According to the Google +1 Information page, the +1 button will soon appear on both Google and all Google-affiliated websites.  With a Google user profile, one is able to +1 his or her favorites and either add the site to a personal list or make it public.  The button is a way of encouraging others to check out certain websites.

“I think it’s a great idea because people will know what sources to look at when they need information,” sophomore Ahtesham Khan said.

According to Google Profile Support, Google’s purpose for the +1 button is to allow anyone who uses the search engine to find the best results more efficiently.  The button will personalize the website for its users by showing recommended websites which have been “liked” by the contacts of a particular Google user.

“Google +1 will be helpful because you can know what is trendy,” sophomore Candice D’Rozario said.

Each Google user will have a +1 page in his or her profile.  There, the person can manage “likes” and enable or disable others from seeing personal sites of choice.  The button will also adjust the Google ads that the user is brought to, based on websites that have been “+1’d.”

Many students believe that the Google +1 button will bring a whole new experience to searching the web, while other students, like freshman Emily Dunenfeld, think that with new options on the site such as Google +1, too many websites are turning into Facebook copies.

“People already used Google and were used to it,” Dunenfeld said.  “It’s just going to confuse people.  It’s just like Facebook− as soon as you get used to it, it changes.”