[Gizmodo.com]

Posted: January 28, 2012

Google Plus users just got a pretty horrible new feature: search your name, and instead of finding out information about yourself, you’re asked to provide it. Quite simply, Google doesn’t want to give you information until you give it information. Guh.

As Drew Olanoff of The Next Web noted today, if you are using Google’s new Search Plus your World (which is on by default) instead of giving you the results you are looking for, a Google vanity search now prompts you to fill out the remainder of your Google Plus profile. It’s a clear example of Google prioritizing Plus over Search. It’s essentially allowing a social network to hijack your Search screen until you feed it personal data. Your normal results appear below the nag, but when I tried this myself, the prompt took over the entire window of my 13″ screen. Google is increasingly acting like an overbearing second grade teacher. If you don’t share, you can’t have any for yourself.

So what happens if you do try to “complete your profile?” Mine was nearly complete, at 85 percent. I filled out my university information and added a photo to my “scrapbook” (related: what the hell is my scrapbook and who can see it?) which were the only two missing fields in the “Update your profile” window. But that only took me to 95 percent. I tried editing my profile directly from within Google Plus itself, dutifully filling out each and every field, including the really intrusive stuff like my relationship status and “who are you looking for?” (I’m just looking for myself!)

I’m still only at 95 percent. I have no idea what I need to do to get to 100. Maybe it’s some philosophical lesson that represents the fundamental loneliness of the human condition by never allowing you to reach completion. I have no idea.

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