On the Web: 7 Things You Should Know About Google +1

Recently Google announced the launch of +1 (yes, plus one, a name even more unfortunate than iPad), its version of the Facebook "Like" button. Google says +1 is shorthand for "this is pretty cool" or "you should check this out," and that it's designed to help you "share recommendations with the world — right in Google's search results." For experts at search engine optimization, this is Google's new version of PageRank. For spammers, this is a dream come true. For users, it's a shiny button to keep them busy/involved/occupied/distracted. For marketers, it's yet another "to do" to add to your never-ending list. Here are seven things you should know about Google +1: