Google+ adds author attribution, embedded posts

Google is making its Google+ social network friendlier to authors and bloggers by making sure their content is linked to their profiles.

Seth Sternberg, director of product management for Google+, said Google’s Authorship program will initially work with the WordPress and Typepad platforms.

"When you create and share content online, you want people to know you're the author— no matter how far that content may travel. Not only do you get the credit, you can also grow your audience over time," Sternberg said in a blog post.

With WordPress and Typepad, he said "the articles you publish will now be associated with your Google+ profile automatically."

Such an association will eventually surface an author's information "when it's most relevant," Sternberg said.

"For example, today users may see your name, picture and/or a link to your Google+ profile when your content appears in Search, News and other Google products," he said.

Sternberg said Google+ may soon feature a similar integration with other sites "including About.com, WikiHow, and Examiner" so Google "can learn and expand the pilot to all kinds of sites and apps using Google Plus Sign-In."

Embedded posts

Meanwhile, Sternberg said those who post their content on Google+ can take advantage of its embedded posts feature.

"With embedded posts, site owners can now add your public Google+ posts to their web pages — as a primary source, for example, or to highlight your point of view. Text, photo and media posts are all supported, and the embeds are fully interactive, so visitors can +1, comment and follow you inline," he said.

He said Google has worked on such a feature with sites like Business Insider, Elle, Eurosport, Financial Times, LA Times, National Geographic, NDTV.com, Rolling Stone, Sports Illustrated, People StyleWatch, TechCrunch, Thrillist, TV Guide, US Weekly, and The Verge. — VC, GMA News